Quotas under the Right to Education

Quotas for the weaker sections in private schools have been one of the most controversial provisions introduced by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The quotas have imposed a debate on issues of social integration and equity in education that private actors had by and large escaped so far. However, the idea of an egalitarian education system with equality of opportunity as its primary goal appears to be outside the well-meaning space that private school principals inhabit. Therefore, the imposition of the quotas has led to resistance, sometimes justified. But the essential arguments against it are based on the logic of markets that the leadership in private schools has imbibed. This leads them to not only resist the idea of integration, but also devalue the enormous effort put in by children and parents from the weaker sections.