RTE process yet to begin, parents anxious

Bengaluru: Last year, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) started the admission process for free seats, available under the Right to Education (RTE) quota, in private schools in the city from the month of November itself. The process started with the identification and publication of neighborhood schools, but this year parents and students are upset with the DPI, as they have not made any announcement over RTE admissions for the academic year 2016-17.

The Primary and Secondary Education minister, Mr. Kimmane Rathnakar, gave a subtle hint that the central government may scrap RTE quotas in schools, so parents and students want clarity over the issue.

According to Mr. Nagasimha G Rao, (RTE task force), parents are worried about the fate of the admissions under the RTE as the DPI is silent on the issue.

“By the month of December, last year, parents had a clear idea of neighborhood schools, seat allotment rules and important dates.

“This helped them prepare the various documents required to apply under RTE. But this year, the DPI has not initiated any process, so even if parents approach local education department offices, no one can give them any information about the admission process,” he said.

Unanswered Question:

According to Mr. Rao, this year the parents have several doubts about the admission process. “Questions like, whether admission for LKG will be cancelled? RTE seats will be allotted only among the BPL families and so on. But officers are not solving these doubts,” he said.

According to DPI officials, a clear picture about the admission process may emerge by the first week of January. “There are several reform proposals that the government has to decide upon, like the reimbursement of fees (money) directly to students.”

It is true that the previous year, the RTE admission process started in the month of November. Everyone’s waiting for the state government's decision in this regard,” he said.