School denies kids admission over RTE rule

The students were allotted seats but were later informed of the issue. Representation pic

A well-known school in Dadar has denied admission to a student who was allotted a seat under the Right to Education rule. The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR), earlier this week, wrote to the civic education officer seeking an investigation and explanation. Balmohan Vidyamandir says they followed all rules and blamed the system for allotting students with residences far from the permissible radius.

While the commission has given the school a week's time to respond, the matter has become a deadlock. Parents are blaming the school and school authorities are blaming the system. A 2017 High Court ruling stated that the student being admitted under RTE should be living within a 1 km radius of the school.

The matter came to light when the father of Paritosh Surapalli, who was among 16 students allotted seats at Balmohan Vidyamandir English Medium School (CBSE) in Dadar in the online RTE admission process for the academic year 2023-24, approached the Child Rights Commission through an NGO. Paritosh's admission was rejected on the grounds that he lived 2.6 km away from the school.

‘Child lives too far'

Balmohan Vidyamandir counts actors, sportspersons and other well-known personalities as its alumni. The school headmistress Babita Penta, in her reply to the education inspector, stated, "The RTE Act, 2009, stipulates 25 per cent admissions be made under the said Act in neighbourhood schools. A list of allottees comprising 16 names was forwarded to our school for the academic year 2023-24. This was followed by individual letters issued to parents allocating seats in our school under the said quota. However, the allottee in question lives much beyond 1 km from the school."

The headmistress has made individual representations/replies for each candidate rejected. mid-day is in possession of these letters.

According to Devidas Mahajan, education inspector of Mumbai South Zone, there are three students whose admissions to the school were rejected on grounds of distance from their residence to the school. Mahajan has mentioned in his clarification to the deputy director of school education that the distance between residences and school for Paritosh Surapalli is 2.6 km, and for the other two candidates, Swanand Patil and Shivanksh Pawle, the distance is 2.5 km. Patil and Pawle, too, have approached the authorities.

‘We were given all-clear!'

Meanwhile, parents and activists said the distance criteria should be relaxed when the seats are vacant. "We were allotted seats in the first list, verification of documents and everything was done and they were cleared for admission. Later, we were informed by the school that we do not fit in the distance criteria. But when the seats are still vacant, they can admit my son. We were officially allotted the seat," said complainant Santosh Surapalli, Paritosh's father.

Only three RTE seats filled

"As per our information and the headmistress' reply to the education department, it has come to light that out of 16 seats under RTE quota in the school, only three were filled by Balmohan Vidyamandir and the remaining 13 seats are vacant. The 1 km distance requirement is not rigid, as may be seen from a quick glance through the guidelines. Children who live nearby should be given preference. But the circle/distance criteria needs to be widened if there aren't enough candidates or if the seats are vacant. The goal is to give admission under the RTE quota," said Nitin Dalvi, education activist and representative of the Maharashtra State Student-Parent Teacher Federation. According to Dalvi, Balmohan and many such private schools deny admission to deserving and eligible candidates citing the distance criteria.

Talking to mid-day, Mahajan said, "We have called all complainants/parents of students who were allotted seats at Balmohan Vidyamandir (CBSE) and we will conduct a hearing for them on Monday. Once we hear them out and identify their issues, we will decide on the next course of action. We are in touch with the school and the parents. We are already working on resolving the matter and ensuring the students do not suffer."

2.6km
Distance child lives from the school