No Proposal to Revive MP Quota for Admissions in Kendriya Vidyalayas: Education Ministry

The Union Ministry of Education has confirmed that there are no current plans to reintroduce the quota for Members of Parliament seeking admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across India. Annapurna Devi, the Union Minister of State for Education, made this clarification in response to a written query posed in the Rajya Sabha. She stated, "There is no ongoing proposal to reinstate the quota for Members of Parliament regarding admissions to Kendriya Vidyalayas. The primary objective of KVs is to cater to the educational requirements of children belonging to transferable central government employees, including those from defense and paramilitary backgrounds, as well as students from Central Autonomous Bodies, Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and Central Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL). This is achieved through a uniform educational program spanning the entire nation."

Annapurna Devi emphasized that the consideration for such a proposal has been dismissed, as it was observed that admitting students under certain special provisions, including the Members of Parliament quota, led to an exceeding of the sanctioned student capacity of 40 students per section. This excessive student-to-teacher ratio in classrooms adversely affected the quality of education and learning.

The decision to eliminate several discretionary quotas, including the Members of Parliament quota, for admissions in Kendriya Vidyalayas was implemented by the central government last year. This decision aimed to create more than 40,000 additional seats in these centrally funded schools. With over 1,200 KVs spread across the country, catering to more than 14.35 lakh students, this step was taken to enhance the availability of quality education.

It is worth noting that Members of Parliament, consisting of 543 in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha, were collectively able to recommend up to 7,880 admissions annually under the previously existing quota system. Furthermore, special provisions allowed MPs to exercise discretionary powers for the admission of 10 children each to Kendriya Vidyalayas. Even district magistrates were granted the authority to recommend 17 students each under the sponsoring authority quota in KVs.