The Navodaya Vidyalayas all over India have been exempted from the provisions of the Right To Education (RTE) Act.
According to the RTE Act, it is mandatory for all schools to implement two key provisions of the act, which include no screening procedure for admission into schools and giving 25% reservation to children from economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society.
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had earlier sought the opinion of former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand. He had said that the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special category schools. The attorney general had also given a similar opinion later.
The law ministry too had agreed with the attorney general's opinion and had suggested that instead of categorizing the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special schools, the RTE Act must be amended.
The HRD ministry, on the contrary, had said that the RTE Act did not require any amendment as Section 2(p) of the act puts Navodaya Vidyalayas in the same category as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.
There have been three reasons given by the ministry for letting Navodaya schools off the RTE provisions. The Navodaya schools begin only from the 6th standard and not class 1 like other schools. Also, these schools are located in all districts and have 75% seats reserved for children from rural areas.
The seats in Navodaya schools are also reserved for children from SC and ST communities in relation to their population in the district, and not less than the national average. One third of seats at the Navodaya schools are reserved for girl students and 3% students are reserved for disabled children.
The schools also do not have any fee structure for class IX and only Rs.200 is charged per month from classes IX to XII. Navodaya Schools have argued that they do not require having 25% reservation for rural students as they already cater to these students.
Regarding the issue of not holding any screening procedure for admissions, Navodaya schools have asserted that they are special schools that are primarily meant for meritorious students. Admission to Navodaya Schools requires students to give a tough entrance examination conducted by the CBSE. The schools have said that not conducting this test for admission into the schools would reduce their academic quality.
According to the RTE Act, it is mandatory for all schools to implement two key provisions of the act, which include no screening procedure for admission into schools and giving 25% reservation to children from economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society.
The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had earlier sought the opinion of former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand. He had said that the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special category schools. The attorney general had also given a similar opinion later.
The law ministry too had agreed with the attorney general's opinion and had suggested that instead of categorizing the Navodaya Vidyalayas as special schools, the RTE Act must be amended.
The HRD ministry, on the contrary, had said that the RTE Act did not require any amendment as Section 2(p) of the act puts Navodaya Vidyalayas in the same category as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Sainik Schools.
There have been three reasons given by the ministry for letting Navodaya schools off the RTE provisions. The Navodaya schools begin only from the 6th standard and not class 1 like other schools. Also, these schools are located in all districts and have 75% seats reserved for children from rural areas.
The seats in Navodaya schools are also reserved for children from SC and ST communities in relation to their population in the district, and not less than the national average. One third of seats at the Navodaya schools are reserved for girl students and 3% students are reserved for disabled children.
The schools also do not have any fee structure for class IX and only Rs.200 is charged per month from classes IX to XII. Navodaya Schools have argued that they do not require having 25% reservation for rural students as they already cater to these students.
Regarding the issue of not holding any screening procedure for admissions, Navodaya schools have asserted that they are special schools that are primarily meant for meritorious students. Admission to Navodaya Schools requires students to give a tough entrance examination conducted by the CBSE. The schools have said that not conducting this test for admission into the schools would reduce their academic quality.
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