20 May,2014 07:24 AM IST | | Shreya Bhandary
Over 3,000 pupils were given admission under the Right to Education Act in various city schools in the first round of seat allotment, but the institutions currently shut for vacations are yet to approve them
The much talked-about admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act which went online as part of a pilot project in Mumbai and Pune have hit a roadblock. Students, who were allotted seats to various city schools through the online seat allotment scheme, haven't got confirmations from the schools.
The RTE Act reserves 25 per cent of the seats in aided non-minority private schools for poor children. The allotment process for these seats was carried out on May 13, after accepting forms from interested parents from April 10-May 13. But when parents reached the allotted schools to complete the admission process for their wards, they were turned back as the schools were shut.
Mailesh Yadav, whose son was allotted a seat in Bangur Nagar Vidya Bhavan in Goregaon, said the watchman of the school asked him to come back after the school re-opens. Aziza Sheikh, too, had to face a similar situation at Bulbul English School in the same suburb.
âWe're on leave'
"Schools have written back to us that they don't have any clerical staff right now due to vacations, and that they can conduct admissions only once the staff is back.
We might have to propose an extension in order to ensure that the first round of admissions are done well," said Sambhavi Jogi, BMC's education officer. She added that the second round of admissions would only begin once the first round is settled.
Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner of the BMC, said the schools had no option but to accept the students who were allotted admissions in the first round. A total of 8,223 seats were up for grabs, for which 6,575 applications were handed in.
Of these, the program made 3,380 seat allotments. Of the remaining 3,195, many are ineligible under the reservation quota because of lack of documents. Some, however, despite satisfying all criteria, weren't allotted any seats.
"We made sure that maximum eligible students got their seats in the first round. If there are more eligible students who haven't been allotted a seat in the first round, we will consider them in the second round," added Adtani.
Fresh applications for the second round will be accepted between May 23 and May 30. The lottery will be conducted on June 2. The applicants that got left out in the first round may have to re-apply in the second.
