Schools in state admit bogus RTE students

A majority of the 63,000 school admissions in Maharashtra under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act in 2012-13 were bogus, the state education department has revealed.

A majority of the 63,000 school admissions in Maharashtra under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act in 2012-13 were bogus, the state education department has revealed.

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“Many schools have admitted students from Class I or from secondary classes, although the rules state that students can be admitted only at the entry level (junior kindergarten),” said NB Chavan, deputy director of education, Mumbai.

In some cases, schools did not even keep aside a portion of the RTE quota for students from reserved castes category, added Chavan.

“Schools enrolled students who did not fit into the definition of ‘weaker sections’ and continued admissions even after the last date given in the RTE timetable. Funds will not be disbursed to defaulting schools,” said Chavan.

The anomalies came to light when the documents of students admitted under the 25% RTE quote were being checked to disburse grants to schools.

According to the education department, there was little transparency in the admission process.

In cases where the number of applicants exceeded the number of seats, very few schools held lottery admissions in the presence of an education inspector, said Chavan.