Bangalore is also the capital of RTE violations

Public instructions department has received a bundle of complaints from parents about city-based schools rejecting RTE
applications citing ‘silly’ reasons. And, there are absolutely no complaints against schools in other districts in state. Why?

There is a difference in the date of birth or the income certificate provided does not come under the neighbourhood premises. Oh, the last date for RTE implementation is long gone. These are some of the “silly” reasons based on which Bangalore-based schools are turning back RTE applicants, according to the officials from the state Department of Public Instructions (DPI).

Going by the pile of complaints that the state department has received from parents so far, the officials conclude that many private schools-especially the ones in the city-are violating rules under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

According to the department officials, the schools in Bangalore South, Bangalore North and Bangalore Rural District are the leaders in rejecting admissions under the 25% reservation for students belonging to economically-backward families. As per the Act, it is mandatory for all educational institutions coming under its purview to provide 25% of their seats to students from economically-weak sections. For them, the fee will be shared by the state government.

Though it was cleared by the state education department at the beginning of this academic year, many Bangalore-based private schools have failed to follow the 25% quota policy.

After the department received the complaints filed by the parents, it issued a circular threatening severe action against schools that fail to implement the Act. "We have strictly instructed our block education officers (BEOs) to provide admissions under the 25% quota for  eligible students. We have also asked the BEOs to file a detailed report on the schools rejecting admissions," said A Devprakash, director of the Primary Education Department.

"The reasons are silly and the schools do not have the authority to reject admissions by citing such reasons," he said. According to the officials, the complaints said schools rejected applications citing reasons like difference in date of birth and the income certificate does not come under neighbourhood premises, while a few schools even said that the deadline for the admissions under RTE is already over.

However, the officials refused to reveal the names of the schools against which complaints were filed, but pointed out that there were no complaints against schools from any other districts in the state. Following the complaints, BEOs have been instructed to inspect those schools and check if the RTE quota is filled or not. They have also been asked to submit a detailed report on those schools. “We will take stringent measures against the schools that violate RTE rules. We are waiting for the report from BEOs,” he said.

Punishment: The state education department can withdraw the affiliation if it is a state school or recommend the withdrawal of the affiliation if the school is affiliated to other boards.