Few takers for seats reserved under RTE in schools

Few takers for seats reserved under RTE in schools

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 15, 2012: The 25 percent seats reserved for children belonging to economically backward sections of society in private schools as per the provisions of the Right to Education Act (RTE) does not seem to have many takers. Several private schools have reported that they received only one application for the reserved seats. 

The principal of an English medium school said that her school, which had reserved 20 seats for poor children, received only one application and the mother was unable to produce the required income certificate and identification proof. She voiced her opinion that the benefits of the RTE had just not reached the beneficiaries. On the other hand, even parents with an annual income of over Rs. 3 lakh were producing fake certificate to claim one of the reserved seats, she said. 

Rotary School Principal Vincent D’Costa said that economically backward parents were neither aware of nor interested in sending their children to Rotary School, but the school made them aware of the benefits available to them under RTE, as a result of which 41 of the total 46 reserved seats are now taken. 

Moses Jayashekar, deputy director of Public Instruction (DDPI), said that the department will make a compilation of all the applications received by government schools and the number of admissions in the category reserved for students from economically backward sections of society in DK after the RTE was implemented.