Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Madhya Pradesh High Court, principal bench at Jabalpur, on Tuesday issued a notice to the Central government seeking a reply within a week over the absence of provisions for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) students in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs).
There are 54 JNVs in Madhya Pradesh. The petition challenges alleged disparity in admission policies in Central government-run schools.
The petition states that Article 15(6) of the Constitution, inserted through the 103rd Amendment in 2019, provides for reservation of up to 10% for EWS in educational institutions.
Despite this, the EWS category has not been included in the admission policy of Navodaya Vidyalayas, which the petitioner argues is contrary to constitutional provisions.
The petitioner also submitted that students from the EWS category are eligible for admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), which function under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, an organisation under the Government of India. However, no such provision exists in Navodaya Vidyalayas, which operate under the same ministry.
Advocate Vikash Mishra, appearing for the petitioner, said, These are Central government-run schools, but there is no provision for admission of EWS students.' We have challenged the guidelines, and the High Court has issued notice to the Central government on this issue.
He added that the exclusion of EWS students goes against the spirit of the policy. The petition also cites a recent Supreme Court verdict granting relief to EWS students.
