Cadre of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) staged a protest in front of the office of Chief Educational Officer here on Thursday demanding effective implementation of Right To Education Act.
A delegation led by State treasurer J. James submitted a memorandum containing seven demands to the Chief Educational Officer A. Gnanagowri.
The Federation said that School Education Department must identify eligible students and conduct admissions. It must also ensure that all private schools followed the RTE Act norms, mandating them to set aside 25 per cent of their total seats to children from socially and economically disadvantaged families.
Besides demanding that the list of students admitted under the RTE Act quota in all schools be made public, they wanted Parent-Teachers Associations to be involved in the admission process.
Further, the Federation demanded action against private schools that collected fees from students admitted under the RTE Act.
In her meeting with the AIYF office bearers, Ms. Gnanagowri also sought to dispel several misconceptions regarding the RTE Act.
She told them that an applicant cannot seek admission in a private school under RTE Act quota if a Government school was located within a kilometre of the applicant's house. Further, she said that Tamil Nadu had among the highest concentration of Government schools in the country and that first priority of the State was to fill up seats in Government schools.
Most parents had a tendency to seek admissions only in select private schools and refused to entertain Government schools or other private schools.
The protestors were removed by the police after they blockaded the CEO’s office.
