The admission procedure for the students from marginalised and disadvantaged sections in the matriculation and nursery schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act has recently evoked good response in Belagacavi district. While RTE quota comprises of 4,376 seats in Belagavi district, the education department has received more than 6,700 applications.
Speaking to the Express, RTE Nodal Officer A N Pyati informed that the first round of RTE, which was supposed to fill 3,022 seats, has already been completed. It has admitted as many as 2,634 seats and the remaining 388 seats will be added up in the next round. "The second round, which was to fill 1,354 seats, will now fill 1,742 seats after adding the pending seats of the first round. In the current scenario, the second round is in progress," he said.
The response has been extremely good in urban areas compared to rural areas. To popularise RTE in the district, the education department made every effort in creating awareness among parents as well as students in both rural and urban areas of Belagavi district. This resulted in making the benefit reach out to more number of people.
Under the Right to Education Act 2009 of the Central Government, 25 per cent of the seats in the LKG in the schools other than minority educational institutions should be earmarked to the children belonging to weaker sections and to those who were denied education. They should be imparted free education. However, some of the private institutions demand money stating it as developmental funds or by giving some other reasons from the parents of the children who have received admission under RTE.
Most of the parents do not complain about this to the concerned authority, fearing their children to face problems in schools. Hence, the education department officials have urged the parents to not hesitate in complaining about such cases, assuring that apart from taking action against the educational institute which is found guilty, they will also ensure the child's safety.
