School screened kid against RTE: Parent

Ghatkopar resident Dinesh Kumar N has alleged that the Euro School in Airoli denied admission to his daughter Mirdhhula in Class I because she did not perform well in the skill-assessment test conducted by it. As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, schools cannot organise any kind of screening procedures during admission.Claiming that the school is unwilling to show him the test papers as it is against the management policy, Kumar complained to NGO Forum for Fairness in Education. The school conducted a skill-assessment test on November 9. Twenty days later, the admission counsellor informed Kumar that his daughter had not performed well.Principal of the school Dr Natasha Mehta confirms the development. “There is no point in seeing the test papers after she was denied admission,” she said. Mehta, however, denied that Mirdhhula was denied admission on the basis of her performance. “Our admissions are not based on the test. We have limited number of seats and it is not possible for every aspirant to secure admission in our school,” she said, adding that the school puts up the list on their website and does not have the system of calling up parents to inform them whether or not their children have secured admission.Mehta further explained that the test Mirdhhula appeared for was not an entrance test. “It was conducted so class teachers could understand the children’s skills.”Kumar disagrees. “All the children were sent to a room and asked to answer the question paper. The parents were told to wait in the corridor until the test was over. It took over an hour. It felt as if Mirdhhula was appearing for a conventional examination,’’ he said.Experts say such tests are against the rules. “Even if the school claims that it is not an entrance test, such skill tests are not permitted by the government. It is against RTE and other state government rules,’’ said NB Chavan, deputy director of education.