Ramaswamy, a 36-year-old worker at a two-wheeler service centre in the city, was in for a shock when he received a message about seat allotment for his son under Right to Education (RTE) quota. His son had got the seat at a school located in Gadag, courtesy technical error! Ramaswamy is a resident of Bengaluru city and eligible to apply for seats at the private and aided schools of the ward where he is living. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought his son would be allotted a seat so far away from the city.
Ramaswamy is one of the 87 such parents who has approached the state department of public instruction with similar complaints.
When contacted, the department officials confirmed the same and said,"It is due to a technical error that occurred while porting data from one system to another."
Parents are shocked because they are residents of Bengaluru and had applied for seats at the schools located in the ward they are living.
"I was really shocked when I received a message saying my daughter was allotted seat at a school in Yadgir. I dialled the department number but did not get a proper response. I then rushed to meet the officials. First, they declined to even listen to me, but when a few more parents arrived with a similar grievance, they received my complaint," said a parent.
"One should be lucky enough to get a seat under RTE as it is decided by an online lottery. My wife started crying the moment she got the message. But when she realised that the seat was allotted in Dharwad, all her hopes were dashed," said another parent who is a tailor.
"We are financially weak and it is impossible to admit our kids at private schools in Bengaluru. RTE is a boon for us. We hope the officials will do justice," he said.
Meanwhile, the principal secretary of the department has given instructions to allot seats to these 87 students wherever there are openings.
"We have received instructions from the higher officials not to wait till the second round of lottery and been directed to allot seats for these students," said a senior department official.
On April 20, the department had conducted the first round of lottery for allotment of seats under RTE quota where about 2.33 lakh applicants were eligible for 1.52 lakh seats.
