RTE third round lottery begins

After much delay, the Right to Education (RTE) Act third round was initiated on Wednesday.

Parents can expect an sms from the education department whether their child has been allotted a seat, on Thursday.

For conducting the third round, the pending admissions – amounting to 105, were ‘kept aside’. These were of children who were refused admissions by various CBSE and IGCSE board schools. “We will initiate an inquiry against these schools and hold another round for these children,” said Prakash Charhate, Deputy Education Officer of the BMC, which handles the RTE admissions. He was not sure when this special round will be held, though.

It is to be noted that no action was taken against schools which refused admissions to children in the first round. Though the list of these non-cooperating schools was sent to the stategovernment for de-recognition, none have yet been derecognised. There were state board schools refusing to give admission, but sources say the department is going soft on them due to the political influence some of them yield. One Dadar-based school, for instance, has given only three out of 20 admissions, rejecting many children on flimsy grounds.

The department is said to have shown children who were denied admissions as ‘not approached’ - to avoid taking action against schools and proceed to the next round. Over 6,000 seats are vacant for RTE admissions even after two rounds have finished. There are about 9,600 seats that had been available for RTE admissions in private schools in the city. The number of admissions till date looks dismal – at 2,423.

For conducting the third round, the pending admissions – amounting to 105, were ‘kept aside’