Chandigarh, April 29
The Haryana Government today decided to dispense with the condition of producing a birth certificate at the time of seeking admission in government primary schools of the state.
The Tribune, in its report published on April 27, had highlighted that admissions in government primary schools were at an all time low this year. While admissions had fallen by 30 per cent in some schools, the admissions were down by over 50 per cent in other schools due to a clause of the Education Department which made the submission of the birth certificate mandatory for securing a seat in a government school.
The decision was taken by the Haryana Education Minister, Mr Phool Chand Mullana, after the case was forwarded by the department concerned. Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Mullana said that the last day for admissions too would be extended in the light of the new orders if need be. The Principal Secretary, Education, Mr RS Gujral, said that a copy of the order would be faxed to all District Primary Education Officers (DPEOs) today.
Following the publication of the story, the Director, Primary Education, Mr Anand Sharma, sought a detailed report in the matter
from the DPEOs of Ambala and Kurukshetra, the two districts mentioned in the report.
While 5000 less admissions were reported from Ambala, 3800 less admissions were reported from schools of Kurukshetra. Also, the fact that the birth certificate clause went against the mission of providing universal education, as is the objective of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, prompted the government to give its assent to dropping the condition.
“Since the order would be known to the public only by tomorrow, the last day for admission in government schools, we will extend the date for admission by a week or 10 days as is required. The orders will be conveyed to the DPEOs today for circulation in the various schools,” he stated.
The birth certificate clause had been introduced in Haryana last year at the instance of the Census and Registration of Births and Deaths Department. However, 2004 being the first year, schools had relaxed the condition and taken in students at their own risk.
The report of The Tribune mentioned that this year, in the face of strict instructions from their parent department, the schools were turning away students or were letting them attend school without enrolling them. Still others were admitting students on the basis of their immunization records available with the anganwari workers or on the basis of a certificate from the village chowkidar, leading to confusion and a drastic fall in number of students admitted to these schools.
