Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to reinstate single girl child reservation in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools.
Expressing serious apprehension over the Union Education Ministry’s recent decision to withdraw the single girl child quota for admission to Kendriya Vidyalaya institutions in the 2024-25 academic year, the Minister in a statement on Monday said the decision would limit the opportunities that single girl children had of getting admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas. The single girl child quota was aimed at supporting families with girl children and empowering them. Reserving a specific number of seats for such families did not only promote education of girls but also gender equality.
The sudden removal of the quota without any clear explanation from the Union Education Ministry or the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan had resulted in a lot of apprehension. It would send an adverse message to society and weaken efforts to achieve gender equality and promote equal opportunities to girls in education, Mr. Sivankutty said.
It had been proven that the quota had helped girls get quality education, the Minister said, urging Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan to reconsider the decision and reinstate the single girl child quota in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in the interests of women empowerment.