In a survey done by a nongovernmental organisation The Unique Foundation, it has come to light that 42 per cent of the seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act remained vacant in the last academic year, 2018-2019.
The foundation has studied the three districts - Pune, Thane and Latur on a case to case basis with the aim to find out the ground reality and the problems faced by the parents during the RTE admission process.
“We did a survey case studywise survey and not based on quantity. We went to various prominent schools in the three districts and many shocking details came to light. Free education under RTE is only on paper ass parents have to spend money on various things despite getting admission under RTE. Parents are told to pay for school uniform, books and in some schools, the parents are told to pay ₹ 6,000 per month for food served,” said Vinaya Malati Hari, RTE programme head of the foundation.
“The awareness and campaigning about RTE has not yet reached the interior parts of the districts, Adivasi and tribal community. So, it is important to promote awareness about RTE in rural areas. Most of the parents are not able to do the online process, so there should be an option to do the admission process manually,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“The awareness and campaigning about RTE has not yet reached the interior parts of the districts, Adivasi and tribal community. So, it is important to promote awareness about RTE in rural areas. Most of the parents are not able to do the online process, so there should be an option to do the admission process manually,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}The members of the foundation have come up with suggestions for the state education department. “We should bring in reservation under reservation in RTE admission procedures as it is done in Andhra Pradesh. Also, a 6 per cent budget of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should be alloted for education,” Vivek Ghotale, executive director of the foundation.