Rani, a domestic helper in the Gurugram area of Haryana, has been chasing after admission for her kids to a government school. Her children, who should be in Classes 6 and 9, are still without a spot in a government school even after two months of “pain and sorrow.” They lack proper school departure or transfer credentials, which is the cause (SLC and TC). Her finances are being put under stress by her frequent trips to government offices.
“The school administrators are not allowing admission without TC in Gurugram’s Madanpuri, Feroze Gandhi colony, Kadipur, and other locations,” she said.
Before the 2021–2022 school year, Rani’s kids attended a tiny private English-medium school in Gurugram’s Feroze Gandhi Colony. She tried to transfer the kids to government schools because she couldn’t pay the tuition. She claimed that in order to obtain TCs for her kids, she gave the school principal Rs 2,000. She did receive the TCs, but the DEO did not sign them, which was a necessary step in the transfer procedure.
“When I visited the DEO office, I learned that the TCs issued by the private school are invalid. The staff at the DEO office is requesting that I file a police report. We the poor are made to suffer since the authorities are not doing anything about these schools, she claimed. In Gurugram, often called Gurgaon, there are many people just like Rani. For pupils to be admitted, Haryana government schools require TCs and mark sheets from prior institutions. Parents, many of them migrant labourers who have relocated to the district with their families, are finding it difficult to pay the high tuition fees charged by private schools for TCs.
As a result of the difficulties parents were experiencing due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Haryana’s Directorate of School Education (DSE) had given schools permission to admit pupils without SLCs in March 2021. Later, the Sarv Haryana Private School Trust, a group of private schools situated in Hisar, appealed this decision to the High Court. The DSE ruling was delayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2022, and the next hearing is scheduled for October 28. In Haryana, a TC is once more required for enrollment in both public and private schools, and parents report that getting their kids enrolled is a monumental process.
“Once a student is enrolled in any class at any school, the authorities give the portal of the school education department all of his information. When we enter his or her information when they apply for admission at other schools, the site indicates that they are already registered. As a result, we won’t admit a student until we have a copy of their transfer certificate from their previous institution, explained Amit Chhabra, a teacher at a government school in the Ambala district of Haryana. “Last year, the Haryana government changed the software and released a circular stating that the TC is not necessary for admission. The same criteria were used for admissions until private schools filed a lawsuit, which resulted in a stay.
The education ministry informed the legislature during the monsoon session that the overall dropout rate in Haryana for secondary courses (Classes 9 and 10) in 2020–21 was 10.8%, with 12.2% for boys and 8.9% for girls. However, it was much greater for historically marginalised and minority communities. It was 14.9% for students from Scheduled Castes and 11.9% for students from Other Backward Classes (OBC); for Muslims, it was 19.4%; for Sikhs, it was 13.7%; and for Christians, it was a very high 31.5%. In a Haryana government survey done in January 2022, it was discovered that 17,802 kids between the ages of seven and 14 weren’t attending school. These kids were added to the 29,000 out-of-school kids who were discovered during a study in August of the previous school year.
This, despite the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education, guarantees every child aged six to 14 years the right to full-time elementary education in a formal school.
“My children were attending a government school in Uttar Pradesh,” recalled Rajendra Kumar, who relocated to Gurugram from the Kannauj area of Uttar Pradesh. My family and I relocated here in May. I went to a government school in Kadipur, Gurugram, to enrol my kids in classes six, seven, and eight. The school declined our request for admission and demanded that we provide a mark sheet and TC. For the documentation, I must return to my homeland. I am making the necessary arrangements to cover the expense. For a variety of reasons, it is challenging for parents to get TCs. Even though the schools were closed for months due to COVID-19, private schools are still expecting parents to pay the entire tuition for TCs.
Ramanand Kumar, a labourer from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, lives in Gurugram with his family and earns Rs 7,000 a month. To obtain a TC and the Class 7 grade sheet, the private school in Gurugram’s Madanpuri that his daughter attended until Class 7 is demanding the previous year’s tuition of Rs 20,000. “In a short period of time, we cannot afford this amount. Now, my daughter Gudiya studies at home and occasionally goes to schools in my neighbourhood organised by NGOs, Kumar added. Kumar attempted to enrol his daughter in a government school in Gurugram, but she has not yet done so. “The school administration is not open to hearing anything.
We asked them to admit me to Class 8; but, they are insistent on holding off until they had TC. In order to continue my education at my prior school, we must first contribute Rs 20,000. Even though they didn’t hold courses because of COVID-19, they are still requesting to deposit the entire year’s fees, according to Gudiya.
‘Violation of RTE norms’
Khagesh B. Jha, a lawyer and activist, asserted that it is “absolutely illegal” to refuse enrollment to kids in government primary schools (Classes 1–8).
“Under Sections 4 and 5 of the RTE Act, 2009, a school is subject to disciplinary action if it refuses to admit a student between the ages of six and fourteen. Children have the right to receive a free education in public schools up to and including eighth grade, as stated in Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. The Haryana government must evaluate the current scenario and assist the parents and children. The Haryana government had to inform the High Court of the issues affecting children and request that the stay be lifted as soon as feasible, he said.
