'Who Heads NCPCR? How Can They Be So Indifferent?' Supreme Court Rebukes NCPCR Over 25% RTE Quota Implementation

The Supreme Court today(September 29) criticised the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for its indifferent resposne to a matter pertaining to the implementation of 25% quota for economically weaker students in private schools.It therefore directed the Chairperson and the Director of the NCPCR to be physically present in the next hearing relating to the effective implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), which mandates that private unaided schools must admit 25% of their strength from students belonging to economically weaker sections for free education.It may be recalled that in January, the Court passed a slew of directions so that 25% seats are reserved for EWS students, observing that the concept of "neighbourhood schools" is envisaged to break barriers of class, caste and gender.