No school admissions allowed before January 2014

New Delhi: In an attempt to tighten noose on schools and make sure they comply with Right To Education (RTE) Act, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has issued a public notice that the process for school admissions for the year 2014-15 will begin on January 6 next year. By then, block education officers (BEOs) will notify parents, teacher associations and community in general about the school-wise data of 25 per cent seats that are reserved for children from disadvantaged and economically weaker sections.

Till then, any admissions made by schools will automatically be deemed ‘cancelled’.

It has come to the DPI’s notice that many private schools, including CBSE and ICSE schools, have already started issuing application forms online and offline and are also collecting capitation fee. Such practices are in clear violation of the provisions of Section 13 of the RTE Act.

Hence, DPI has warned the parents that they should beware of falling into the trap of such admission process and is preparing to initiate legal action against erring schools.

BEOs and Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) will visit all private schools in their jurisdiction, irrespective of the boards they are affiliate to and curriculums they follow.

Parents of the disadvantage communities and those with an annual income of less than Rs 3.5 lakh can apply for RTE quota seats in schools for their children.

 

This post was written by Aditya Singhal, managing director of askIITians.