In July it was reported that Maheish Girri BJP MP from East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency had introduced a private members bill in the Lok Sabha where he had asked for amendments in the minority favouring Right to Education Act.
He back then had also pointed out possibly one of the biggest flaws in the act where even though private run unaided schools need to reserve 25% of their seats for students from the weaker sections of the society, such a compliance isn’t applicable to minority run institutions, as per the 93rd amendment in the constitution passed in 2005.
Such a partial application of the regulations has meant that the number of minority schools are steadily rising at the cost of Hindu run schools. This has also meant that over 3000 Hindu run schools have been forced to close throughout the country.
After making this point Girri had claimed that this amendment contradicted the right to equality which has been enshrined in our constitution. He also stated that no waiver should be given to any particular faith by a society which promotes the idea of secularism.
Now Girri is again in the news regarding the same issue after he tweeted today that he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring minority institutions under the purview of the RTE so that more economically disadvantaged students can avail the advantage of the scheme.
This is the letter by Girri to PM Modi:
In this letter dated 20th September, Girri stated that as minority institutions don’t come under the purview of the RTE, the disadvantaged sections of the society aren’t able to study in these minority institutions. He again claimed that by placing the minority institutions outside the ambit of article 15(5) of the constitution (the article which provides the exemption to the minority institutions), the government is violating the right to equality.
He then requested the Prime Minister to ensure that 25% of seats are reserved in all educational institutions irrespective of their religion.
It remains to be seen if the Modi government decides to take the required action in this regard.