Bengaluru: “The management will pay you Rs 45,000, please take your child to another school.” This was what Murali, who works as a driver in the city, heard when he tried to admit his six-year-old son to Vagdevi Vilas School under the RTE quota.
With the government refusing to budge on the RTE, schools are coming up with new ways to avoid admitting children under the Act. “The school conducted an entrance test for my son,” said Murali. Even this is in violation of RTE norms.
“After that, they offered me money to take my child somewhere else. My other option was to add Rs 25,000 to this amount and admit the child under the general category.”
If he failed to do this, the school allegedly threatened him, saying it would put his son in isolation. According to Pramila T, another aggrieved parent, “The school asked us to pay nearly Rs 40,000. They said they would discriminate against my daughter if I didn’t comply. The government reimburses Rs 11,800 per student, so the school said they would give my daughter the services that amount will fetch her, but nothing more. They refused to take any interest in what my daughter does, they will not bother even if she doesn’t show up at school.”
The RTE kids will be left in a scrap room with broken furniture, the school alleged. “They also said they would employ 10th std pass students to come teach them, instead of having the regular teachers,” said Murali. When he threatened to take the matter to the authorities, the school called his bluff, allegedly saying, “Call whoever you want. Go the media, if you like. We will pay everybody off and make sure your case doesn't hold in court.”
The parents — Murali, Pramila, C.V. Manjunath, Chinnappa and Gopal, approached the RTE task force. “We sent the complaint to the Child Rights Commission,” said Nagasimha Rao, Convener, RTE Task Force. “We’re waiting for the government to take action. If nothing is done in the next couple of days, we will protest outside the school. This is not merely a violation of the RTE Act, it is a flagrant violation of human rights. Neither the parents nor the children should be treated this way.”
Umesh Aradhya, Chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, acknowledged the complaint. “I have sent a notice to the school,” he said. “My suggestion is that the parents don’t take no for an answer. No matter what the school comes up with, admit the kids.” Taking action otherwise, he admitted, is nearly impossible. “The school will not take it lying down, there will be more trouble for the parents,” he said. “But if we approach them based on a verbal complaint, they will deny everything.”
There is no problem solving mechanism in the State yet, so parents have nobody to turn to. All they can do at the moment is file a complaint and hope their pleas will be heard. Otherwise, they will have to pay money in return for equality.
