The state government must put in extra efforts to ensure that more and more seats reserved under the Right to Education Act are taken up by students living on the other side of the economic fault line, observed the Bombay High Court on Tuesday. About 50,000 seats under the RTE quota have remained unfilled so far this year.
A division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice A P Bhangale said, "Even if a child is poor, if given proper education he can shine and be successful." The court was referring to citizens, who, for few months, work at under-construction sites or companies. "Their priorities is survival and not their children education."
The HC directed the state government to track migrant labourers, who travel to different places in search of work. "There has to be a scheme with regard to migrating labourers working," said the court, suggesting that the government should work towards achieving the purpose of RTE.
The court was acting on a public interest litigation by NGO Anudanit Shiksha Bachao Samiti on behalf of parents whose children haven't yet got admission under the Act. Aimed at providing free education to all children in the country, the legislation mandates reservation of 25 per cent of seats in private unaided schools for poor students in their vicinity.
The court was surprised that nearly 50 per cent of the seats under the quota were lying vacant in the state, while the figure was about 20 per cent in Mumbai. The court said, "How do you (authorities) locate the parents whose children are eligible for admission to schools under the RTE quota?"
Counsel Anil Sakhare, who represented the civic body, said that they conduct awareness various programmes and put advertisements in newspaper and television. "However, due to several reasons, parents don't apply. In some cases, even after taking admissions, the children don't attend classes."
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