JNV NEWS: HRD allows Navodaya Vidyalaya test

The human resource development ministry has brushed aside objections raised by senior law ministry officials to allow Navodaya Vidyalayas to continue admission tests, using support it has received from the country's top law officer. Armed with a favourable legal opinion from the attorney general(AG), the HRD ministry dismissed concerns raised by law ministry officials at a meeting on Wednesday, government sources have confirmed to HT. 
Top law ministry officials and the AG have expressed divergent opinions on the matter, but the HRD ministry cited the top law officer's opinion, reportedly ratified by law minister M Veerappa Moily, to stick to its view.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Educatio — popularly referred to as the Right to Education (RTE) Act — specifically bars schools from using any method other than random selection to admit students. It also requires schools to admit economically weak students from the neighbourhood to 25% seats.
This clause has left the HRD ministry in a dilemma for months now because the more than 500 Navodaya Vidyalayas it runs admit students through a national entrance test. These schools are aimed at tapping intelligent rural children.
The HRD ministry sought the view of the law ministry, former Chief Justice of India AS Anand and the AG. Both Justice Anand and the AG have said Navodaya Vidyalayas are a separate class of schools that do not need specific exemption under the RTE Act to continue with their admission tests.
Law ministry officials, however, argued that the Act ought to be amended instead of relying on interpretations.

HRD issued guidelines about screening of children at the time of admission

NEW DELHI: After months of debating the issue and seeking the law ministry's opinion, the HRD ministry on Tuesday finally issued guidelines about screening of children at the time of admission under the Right to Education Act.
HRD minister Kapil Sibal said, "We have taken the law ministry's clearance to issue the guidelines on screening. The RTE Act will be amended later. Had we gone in for an amendment on screening now admissions the next academic year would have suffered."
Making it clear that no school would be allowed to do profiling of students based on their parents' education, the new guidelines allow schools to have categorization based on a "rationale and just" basis. But within the categories schools will not be allowed to conduct interviews either of students or parents. Admission will be done entirely on a random basis through draw of lots.
Schools have also been told that their objective and categories should be put in the public domain and be included in the school prospectus. For instance, there can be rational categories for alumni and siblings. At the same time, minority educational institutions like madarsas and vedic pathsalas have been left out of the provisions of RTE Act. However, institutions run by minority groups that fall under the definition of school as provided in the RTE Act will have to comply with screening as well as other provisions of the legislation.
The categorization will be limited to 75% of children while 25% reservation to children of economically weaker sections will be given without any screening and on the basis of random selection through draw of lots. The HRD ministry is likely to issue another set of guidelines about screening in residential schools later. Many top residential schools have been asking the ministry for guidelines before next year's admission process starts. The HRD ministry-run Navodaya Vidyalayas, which too are residential, have been opposed to the provision of no-screening and giving 25% admission to underprivileged children in the neighbourhood on the ground that they cater to poor children.

Source: Times Of India