The Delhi government on Monday announced that schools cannot deny admission to a child on the ground that the child is declaring the name of only one parent. This has come as a relief for many single parents.
Also there have been instances in the past where schools had denied admissions to kids of single parents. However, the Delhi government has come up with this move to address the long standing issue.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also looks after the education portfolio, said no school in Delhi will deny admission to a child on the ground that the child is declaring the name of one parent only.
The order issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE) read, “All the heads of schools of all managements under the office of Director of Education are hereby directed to not deny admission to the candidates who have filled details of or even one of the parents in the application form while taking admission.”
The Delhi government's move came even as some single parents faced trouble in getting their children admitted to schools with management insisting that the names of both the parents should be mentioned.
Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, a socio-cultural organisation, said, “This is a major step, especially for single mothers. It is a very progressive step in ensuring education for children of single parents.”
Shefali Rao, a single mother and a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, expressed that she is happy with the decision taken by the Delhi government.
Sharing her experience, Rao said, “I know how hard it is to raise a child. My child faced challenges during her admissions just because her father's name wasn't written in the admission form. The schools had denied her admission. Pritisha's initial days of schooling started in an NGO, later I got my daughter admitted in a convent boarding school in Nainital with the help of my family and friends.”
Earlier, many schools were rigid on having details of the both the parents for admissions. Some of the single parents had raised their objections to schools insisting on the name of the other parent even when they were not involved in raising the child.
