Special quotas in KVs scrapped, setback for MPs; find out reason

NEW DELHI: Admission to all the special quotas, including the MP quota, in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) have been scrapped. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) headquarters has directed all regional offices to put a hold on admissions under special provisions. In addition to MP quota, 16 other quotas have also been scrapped.

What is an MP quota?

The Kendriya Vidyalayas are the schools started in 1963, on the recommendation of the Second Central Pay Commission, in order to facilitate the education of the children of transferable central government employees, including defence and paramilitary personnel. Currently, there are 1,200 KV schools in the country. These schools are run by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education.

In 1975, MP quota was introduced in the KVs for allowing a fixed quota of admissions to each member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Accordingly, an MP can recommend students from their constituency for admission in classes one to nine. Earlier, an MP could recommend only two students in an academic year. Gradually, the system was changed and the number of students was increased.

The numbers rose to five in 2011, six in 2012, and 10 in 2016. Currently, in accordance with the number of MPs in Lok Sabha (543) and Rajya Sabha (245), 7,880 admissions are possible against this quota every year. Moreover, the Union Education Minister is also allowed to recommend another 450 students for admission in KVs, each academic year. However, this discretionary quota was abolished last year.

Why was it scrapped?

Over the years, ministers and MPs began to recommend students, exceeding the allotted numbers. They also insisted on admitting all the recommended students. For instance, 8,164 students were admitted against the sanctioned strength of 7,880 in the 2018-19 academic year. Meanwhile, a total of 9,402 students were taken in against the education minister’s quota of 450.

These extra admissions tend to distort the teacher-student ratio in schools. It also came to the government’s notice that such admissions deprive deserving students of an opportunity to study in KVs. For this reason, these special quotas have been abolished several times before. However, it was reintroduced owing to political pressure.

Which are the special quotas scrapped now?

The quotas for the MPs, only girl in the house, MPs' children and grandchildren, children of KV employees, retirees and grandchildren, children of central government employees who died in service, children of recipients of high military honors and police medals including Ashoka Chakra, winners of state level sports competitions, scout winning medal from President, students winning bravery award, national teacher award winners' children and national level fine arts award winners, have been scrapped.