Provide free edu to wards who lost parents to COVID-19: DSEK to Govt, Pvt schools

Srinagar, Oct 19: The School Education Department (SED) has asked all government and private schools of Kashmir division to provide free and compulsory education for this academic year to those orphan students who lost their parents due to COVID-19.

Besides, the SED while referring to the Supreme Court ruling said in case, the children who have lost one or both of their parents after March, 2020 have dropped out of school, steps shall be taken by the state governments for free admission of such students towards continuation of their education.
Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), Tassaduq Hussain Mir in an circular issued earlier this week said, “It is impressed upon all the heads of the schools of both government and private to ensure that orphans who have lost both of their parents or either parent may be permitted to continue their studies in the same schools at least for the current academic session.”

Mir impressed upon all the Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to record the details of children orphaned due to COVID-19 and submit the updated information within two days positively.
He said that the Supreme Court in July-2021 and August has issued several directions to the states and the Union Territories (UTs) for the identification of COVID-19 orphans and the measures to be taken by the government with regard to the continuation of the education of such orphans.

Referring to the Supreme Court ruling issued in July-2021, DSEK said that the Apex Court has asked to ensure that such orphans are permitted to continue in the same schools at least for this academic year, be they private schools or Government schools.

“If there are difficulties in the cases of students being permitted to continue their education in private schools, they may be accommodated under the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009,” reads the Supreme Court order.
It also states that in case, the children who have lost both of their parents or either parent after March, 2020 have dropped out of school, steps shall be taken by the state governments for free admission of such students towards continuation of their education.
“The state government shall also furnish information on the number of such students studying in private and government schools and the mechanisms implemented to permit them to continue studying in their respective schools,” it reads.
The Supreme Court in the following order issued in August-2021 directed that the “State government shall ensure that benefit of the scheme reaches to the identified children at the earliest. The caste government shall also ensure that the education of the children studying in private schools is not disturbed.”