EWS student barred from attending classes: HC seeks school's response

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday sought responses of the AAP government and a private school here on a plea seeking direction to allow a student to attend class 11 and continue her education under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. Justice Anu Malhotra issued notices to the school and the Directorate of Education (DoE) under the Delhi government on the plea filed by a girl student.

The petition, filed by the girl's father, alleged that the school was not allowing her to continue her studies there on the alleged grounds that she secured poor marks in the class 10 board examination, which were "illegal and discriminatory". The court has put up the matter for further hearing on July 23.

The plea, filed through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh, said the girl has been studying in the school since the beginning under the EWS category and had appeared for class 10 board examination this year from the same.

It said the school, being on a government land, was obliged to provide free education to the girl up to class 12 under the EWS category. It claimed that she had secured 61 per cent in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 board examination, but was not allowed by the school to attend class 11 in the 2019-20 batch on the alleged grounds that she secured poor marks in the exam.

The plea claimed that when her father had contacted the school's principal, he was told to pay the full fees if he wanted his daughter to study there, otherwise they should move to a government school. It said the DoE has failed to take action against the school which has denied education to the girl and this was illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory.