Private schools are profit centres: HC

Private schools are "profit centres", the Delhi High Court today observed while hearing arguments in a PIL seeking grant of free books and uniform to children belong to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category admitted to private unaided schools.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul made the observation in response to the claim of an association of private schools that uniform in their institutes costs more than Rs 6,000 annually.
"The reality is it (a private schools) is a profit centre," the court said.
The bench was also of the view that free and compulsory education under the Right to Education (RTE) Act includes providing free uniform and text-books to kids belonging to EWS category.

"Therefore, the question that is to be answered is whether non-provision of uniform and text books, free of cost, will hamper completion of elementary education as mandated under the Act," the court said.
The bench also said that its "whole aim and objective" is to ensure that kids belonging to EWS and disadvantaged groups are not denied elementary education as provided under the Act.

"Children should not suffer," it said.
It also advised the schools to provide the uniform and books free of cost to EWS students, saying they will be reimbursed for the same by the Delhi government.
It said the Delhi government will reimburse the schools for providing books of those publications that the institutes have prescribed and not only for National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) books.

"They (the government) can't say they will only reimburse you for NCERT books. If they say so, we will not accept it," the bench said.
The court will continue to hear arguments on October 13.