GURGAON: A lifeline for underprivileged children is increasingly being undermined in the city.Fake income certificates, false proximity claims and fabricated job details, including a bogus school bus driver claim on-ground verification by private schools has exposed a widespread manipulation in admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s economically weaker section (EWS) quota.Ground verification drives by several schools have revealed clear discrepancies. In multiple cases, families claiming EWS eligibility were found living in well-built three-storey houses, earning rental income from tenants and owning private vehicles and multiple air conditioners.Cases involving such bogus claims have raised questions about the integrity of the system at the district level. At the core of the issue is Haryana’s current mechanism for issuing income certificates, which, according to officials and school authorities, relies heavily on self-declaration. Principal of city-based Drona Public School (Sector 10) Bhishm Bhardwaj told TOI that although EWS lists are sent after verification by the district education department, schools conduct their own checks. He cited a case where a student studying since nursery was found, by Class 9, to belong to a financially well-off family. “The family owns a car, has two houses on rent and also earns from a van given on rent,” he said, adding that the matter was reported and fees are now being paid by the parents.Such cases are being practised in almost all private schools across Gurgaon. However, there are “no official data”, to back the claim, sources told TOI.In Gurgaon, a spike is observed every admission cycle in freshly issued income certificates and Aadhaar card address updates just weeks before deadlines. With no mandatory requirement for supporting documents such as income tax returns (ITRs), salary slips or verified bank records, applicants are often able to understate their earnings without effective scrutiny. While sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Hitendra Kumar said action would be taken “wherever irregularities are found”, such cases directly contradict eligibility norms meant for economically weaker households, with school authorities warning that misuse is limiting access for genuinely deserving students.
Admissions in numbers
Under Haryana’s framework, EWS eligibility is capped at an annual family income of Rs 1.8 lakh. While discrepancies can lead to cancellation of admission, schools say action becomes difficult once seats are allotted through the centralised online portal. Parents often challenge rejections in court, where rulings tend to prioritise the child’s right to education, even when documents are disputed. This has led to an increase in legal cases, adding administrative and financial pressure on schools.Distance manipulation has also emerged as a major concern. Under Haryana’s RTE norms, preference is given to children within a defined neighbourhood radius, typically up to 1 kilometre for entry-level classes. However, verification teams have identified cases where applicants living 5-11 kilometres away used temporary or incorrect addresses to qualify.Many submitted notarised 11-month rent agreements near targeted schools. In one instance, a family residing on Sheetal Mata Road applied under the 1-km rule at a private school despite actually living nearly eight kilometres away, a discrepancy detected only after physical verification.Fabricated employment claims are another recurring issue. In one case, an applicant declared himself a school bus driver to establish low-income status. When the school was contacted, officials confirmed no such person had ever been employed there, exposing the claim as false.Referring to such cases, state president of Haryana Progressive Schools Conference (HPSC), an educational society of private schools, Suresh Chander, said, “When families with multiple income sources, cars, rental properties and other assets enter the EWS pool through weak verification, it reflects a systemic gap that ultimately denies genuine beneficiaries their rightful access.”The SDM told TOI, “Many private schools act arbitrarily and hesitate to grant admission to eligible children. However, if any irregularity or fraud is reported at any level, both parents and schools will be investigated. Documents are issued after due verification, but if false information emerges, strict action will follow. The benefits of the EWS scheme must reach only genuinely needy families,” he said.Educationists note that under the earlier decentralised system, schools had more autonomy to verify applications and reject ineligible candidates at the outset. The shift to a centralised process has made post-allotment verification more complex and legally sensitive.
