By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: “I want to study but Delhi government schools are refusing me admission.” This is how the 13-year-old Farman Khan narrates his plight and the ordeal that he went through just because he wants to study.
But don’t be surprised. He has not applied in any convent school like Delhi Public School. These are the government schools of Delhi which, in a show of mockery of the right to education, are denying him admission without any rhyme and reason.
Farman Khan
The situation came to such a pass that Savita Aggarwal, a Supreme Court lawyer, had to take up his case personally with the school authorities but again they didn’t respond, let alone considering their request.
TwoCircles.net talked to Savita Aggarwal to get the details of the case.
Farman Khan passed Std V from Jain Model Public School in Green Park Extension area in New Delhi on March 30, 2007. According to Savita Aggarwal, since then Khan has been running from one school to another for getting admission in Std VI but every school that he has visited for admission denied him what is his “fundamental right to education” without any logical, reasonable and legal ground.
His parents are in Uttar Pradesh and at present his sister, who works as helper in a beauty parlor in Delhi, takes care of him.
Since 2007 he has visited almost every nearby school including Gargi government school in Green Park, MBDAV school in Yusuf Sarai, Senior Secondary School in Masjid Moth but the school authorities didn’t listen to the child and his sister. Result? Farman is still out of school.
Therefore, in 2008 again the child and his sister visited various schools, requesting, praying and even begging them to give admission to Farman but they got the same reply.
According to the rule the last date of the admission in schools is August 31, 2008, but the authorities closed the admission on August 14, 2008 itself.
The Supreme Court lawyer Savita Aggarwal accompanied the student and his sister to various schools including Senior Secondary School in Masjid Moth and requested the Principal Mrs. Kanta Joshi for the admission of the child.
Surprisingly, the Principal, instead of helping the child, went offensive against the child and his sister and pressed the duo to disclose where the child was working last year.
More shockingly, she even went to the extent of using derogatory language against the profession of Savita Aggarwal, the Supreme Court lawyer.
The same kind of humiliating treatment was meted out to them when they visited MBDAV School in Yusuf Sarai. Instead of admitting Farman, the Principal of the school outright said that he has not taken the contract of giving admission to the children of entire country.
He further said that it is an affidavit case admission which takes place only on one day and there is no need to give public notice for those admissions.
Then Mrs. Aggarwal, Farman and his sister went to the Education Officer (EO) of Delhi’s South Zone on August 18, 2008. There first of all the child was interrogated by the EO who later advised them to meet the Deputy Director of Education (DDE) Anita Setia who was not available at that time.
However, after waiting for an hour, they tried to give a copy of the written complaint to the staff in the office which they refused to accept saying that “the Madam has instructed us not to receive any complaints pertaining admission.”
After that they visited her office thrice and made various calls but every time she refused to come online, said Savita Aggarwal.
After their repeated efforts to contact the DDE south, some of the office staff told them to meet Regional Director in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi.
When they contacted the said official, they were told to talk to Director/ Additional Director, Education regarding the admission.
Even after this kind of harassment, Farman was not given admission and there was no action taken on the complaints of Mrs. Aggarwal against the erring officials of the state education department.
Ultimately, Savita Aggarwal had to give a legal notice to the Director of Education, government of NCT, Delhi.
Aggarwal informed TwoCircles.net that she has filed a case against the Director, Department of Education and other officials of the Department in Delhi High Court.
She said that the Director is creating his own rules and regulations in order to run the department thus affecting the common man and their children as Farman’s case itself shows.
She said that from Farman’s case it is apparent as how poor children of the country, having the “Fundamental Right to Education” are being harassed, maltreated, misguided and literally restrained from schools.
The most shameful part of the entire episode was the negligent, unconstitutional, and inhuman attitude of the senior officers i.e. Education Officer, Deputy Director of Education Department for not taking action against the erring officials.
It is also clear from the whole episode that in spite of the massive campaigning by the government pertaining the “Right to Education” it is still a far off dream for the poor and unprivileged children to get admission in the government schools.
Mrs. Aggarwal further said the school authorities have the tendency to consider their own responsibilities simply as liability. That is why they don’t want to work.
This is the reason why no body wants to go to the government schools which are empty now in spite of having big buildings.
And the incident speaks volumes about why the government education policy is unable to deliver even after so huge funds are allocated to the sector.
Instead of being sympathetic and co-operative with the children, the school authorities and officials pounce upon them.
The inhuman, indifferent, callous and apathetic way in which the school authorities treat the ordinary people and the children won’t make them come in the government schools, let alone taking education in them.
And this is how the authorities of government schools directly encourage and ensure the prosperity of the private schools which have mushroomed.
In fact, as the practice which is now prevalent throughout India, the authorities of the government schools are alleged to be taking commission from the private schools.
What will happen to the ordinary people when a person like principal of a school humiliates and harass a child in front of a lawyer?
Aggarwal said that the people in the education system need to change their attitude drastically.