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Parents fear delay in RTE admissions will affect children
The school admissions under the Right To Education (RTE) have been affected with the extension of lockdown likely till May 15
The school admissions under the Right To Education (RTE) have been affected with the extension of lockdown likely till May 15.
The lottery for RTE was declared on April 7. However, the admission process is yet to begin due to the current lockdown.
Parents now fear that this delay, similar to last year, will affect their children academically.
The RTE admissions under RTE for academic year 2020-2021 were finalised in January 2021.
Speaking about the delay in the admission process, Soni Rathod from Undri said that her 6-year-old son has been selected under RTE for admission in Class 1.
“I have not received any message as of yet to start with the admission process. I have seen my number on the online lottery of admission under the RTE. The online lottery was on April 7,” said Rathod.
“Due to lockdown, there has been a delay. We went to the RTE office as well for enquiry. We were informed that the process will start soon and the details will be uploaded on the website. We want the online school to start so that the child is busy. The process should not be delayed as the child will suffer academically,” said Rathod.
Under RTE, 25 per cent seats of the unaided private schools are reserved for students from economically backward sections at entry level of preschool and Class 1.
For the academic year 2021-2022, there are 982 RTE registered schools in Pune. Of the 55,813 applications, 14,567 students were selected in Pune during the online lottery.
Mukund Kirdat, city-based education activist and member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said that even though lockdown is in effect, the education department should start with the admission process.
Across Maharashtra, there are 82,129 students selected under RTE during the online lottery.
“The schools have already started their admissions. In such cases, there is a huge list of parents waiting under the RTE. If the regular admission under RTE is not done, then the waiting list parents will also suffer. Because some parents are hoping to secure admission through RTE, they have not applied through normal admission for their ward,” said Kirdat.
He further added that the education department does not seem prepared even during the second wave.
“Document verification for parents under the RTE can start as there are not a lot of parents at a particular school. Such special provisions should be made so that the process is finished soon, and students start their academic year,” said Kirdat.
Education department officials said that parents can look for more information regarding the online admission process on the official website of RTE.
