No proposal to revive MP quota for admissions to KVs

The Union government is not considering reviving the quota for Members of Parliament (MP) for admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across the country as of now, the education ministry said on Monday.

The government’s statement came in response to a query by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Sarmistha Sethi in Lok Sabha on plans to revive the discretionary quota that was scrapped last year.

“There is no such proposal, at present, to revive the quota for Members of Parliament for admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs),” Union minister of state for education Annpurna Devi said in a written response.

“There is no such proposal under consideration since the admission under some special provisions, including Hon’ble Members of Parliament’s quota, were granted over and above sanctioned strength of the student strength of 40 per section which was adversely affecting learning due to high pupil teacher ratio in classes,” she added.

Under KVS Special Dispensation Admission Scheme or MP quota, which was introduced in 1975, an MP in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha could recommend a maximum of 10 students from their respective constituencies every academic year for admission in classes 1 to 9.

With 543 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha, a total of 7,880 admissions every year were possible against this quota across 1,248 KVs in India.

The Union government scrapped the discretionary quota for admissions to KVs last year, days after the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan put it on hold. Officials cited “excessive admissions” under the quota as the reason behind its removal.

At least 1.43 million million students are currently studying in KVs across the country.

In her response in the Lower House, Devi said KVs are primarily opened to cater to the educational needs of wards of transferable central government employees, including defence and paramilitary personnel, central autonomous bodies, central public sector undertakings (PSUs) and central institute of higher learning (IHL), by providing a common programme of education throughout the country.