Fifteen-year-old Rahul Anand can't believe his luck. He first scored 92 per cent in his Class X Board exams, then he got 100 per cent scholarship in an IIT coaching centre.
It was possible only because Rahul was an exceptional student, and one of the finest schools in Delhi took him in on a full scholarship.
It's a dream for Rahul as his poor family could not afford such schooling.
"The handouts were very helpful and the teachers were very good," an excited Rahul said.
Many factors fell in place for Rahul's dream to come true.
Even if one is not so lucky, now the Right to Education Bill will ensure more students from poor families get the chance to study in a private school as 25 per cent seats in private schools will be reserved for poor students.
According to a national estimate, the government is going to pay around Rs 800 for every child admitted to a private school under reservation. But private school authorities say this is not going to be enough and will shift the economic burden on the paying parents.
"Of course, who else will pay the excess amount? We will tell the parents and calculate the amount that they have to pay parents," said Latha Vaidyanathan, principal, Modern School.
"From my experience I have noticed that these students who may get admitted as part of reservation don't exactly feel free and part of the rest of the group. They seem to carry a chip, complex in their mind, however hard we may try to take it away," said Daffne G, principal, Le'cole Chempekka School.
Whatever the complaints, all teachers agree on one thing -- that poor students who get seats in big schools work much harder and show a 100 per cent success rate.
