Delhi eases school admission ordeal for single parents
It is high time the whole country should follow in the footsteps of the Government of National Capital Territory which issued a circular dated 28th June 2021 directing Schools in the National Capital cannot refuse admission to any applicant for declaring only the name of their single parent in the application form. This would apply to all government and government-aided private recognized schools under the Directorate of Education.
The notice was issued after some parents approached the department with complaints of private schools not accepting the application if it contained only the name of a single parent. The circular brought clarity and made the admission process easier for such families
This is a laudable step and the credit goes to the Government of the National Capital Territory for initiating such a far-reaching move. I feel this is an exemplary step and deserves a big round of applause. When it comes to admitting one’s child to a school, the situation faced by widows, divorced or single mothers is nothing less than an ordeal. If they declare they are a single parent, schools straight away deny admission to their child or cite all kinds of legalities. On the other hand if they opt for the normal option, the school management expects the father’s presence and his documents at the time of interaction.
This continues to happen across the country despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the landmark Supreme Court judgement of 2015 that ruled that – a single unmarried mother can be the legal guardian of her children without any consent from her male counterpart. The court had opined that the safety of the child was of utmost importance. A person who left the child and walked away from responsibility need not be asked for giving any consent. The ruling also held that insisting the lady to disclose the name of the parent also amounts to taking away her rights in this democratic country. The Supreme Court had also overturned previous decisions that required a mother to get the father’s permission before claiming sole guardianship of a child born out of marriage.
India is a patriarchal society and being a single mother has never been easy. It is hard for many to accept the mother’s document when it comes to authorizing if a child is eligible for admission under RTE. Also, as per the original law the male parent is the guardian for the child. The female parent does not have any authority and also doesn’t have any independent legal status. In all the government records they have to mention the name of the father.
There are some famous examples in India like former Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen, who has set a sort of record by becoming a single mother six times. She first adopted her elder daughter Renee at the age of 25 after fighting all legal odds and societal prejudices, even at the prospect of glamorous career. She had said in an interview Being a single mother is not easy. It is very romantic but it’s not easy.” Sushmita fought for nearly 10 years in court to adopt her second daughter Alisah since it mandated the adoption of a son after a daughter.
I can empathise with the situation single women face in India In fact, when Late Dr Prabha Khaitan wanted to adopt me as a single lady, there were too many complications as per the prevailing law of that time with respect to a single woman wanting to adopt a child.
The Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India, functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children. It is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003. CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.
In 2015, the Ministry of Women and Child Development issued the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) Guideline which permits a single woman to adopt a kid of any gender. The Juvenile Justice Act does not lawfully prescribe a single male to adopt a female child.
Orphans and children of widowed, divorced or single mothers are allowed to avail admissions under the Right to Education Act if they meet the terms of the Act but problems arise when local bodies implementing the admission process refuse to take the mother’s documents as official papers for the child. In the recent past many such cases of divorced mothers unable to get admissions for their children came up.
It is mandatory in most schools to fill in the father’s name or even caste certificate, which makes it impossible for such women to admit their wards. Schools generally reject any application if the documents of the father are not submitted stating the lack of documents or incomplete application form as the reason.
The concept of single mothers is yet to be accepted by society. But this needs to change and education department officials dealing with RTE admissions must accept documents of single, widowed or divorced mothers or orphans.
In cases of children abandoned by their fathers and mothers passing away they come under the care of the maternal grandparents and they too cannot produce original documents showing their father’s surname and thus lose out on admissions.
As the societal norms change, the country’s legal framework should keep pace with the changing times through proper legal reforms.ess bee