RTE misuse: association considering filing complaint against Education Dept.

The Education Department has assigned online accounts to all schools to be used for allotting admissions under the RTE Act. File photo: M.A. Sriram

CBSE Management of Independent Karnataka State Association (MIKSA) has alleged that the Education Department was using the password provided to schools to admit children under the Right to Education Act. The association said that it is contemplating registering a complaint with the police for illegally using passwords meant for schools. Raghu, vice-president of the association, told The Hindu that the Education Department had allotted online accounts to all schools to be used for allotting admissions under the Act. He questioned the propriety of admitting children centrally by the department in Bengaluru by using the accounts allotted to schools. He said it was a serious cyber crime and the association would file a police complaint in this regard.

Referring to the RTE admissions, Mr. Raghu said that the department had issued orders in the last month asking schools to admit children from areas within an 8 km radius in urban areas. Children residing in city can apply for seats under RTE in schools in their wards while children in rural areas can apply for seats in schools situated within a 1 km radius surrounding their villages.

These being the guidelines, how did the department issue a circular stating that children in rural areas residing beyond the 1 km radius of their villages could be given seats, Mr. Raghu asked.

Similarly a circular was issued saying that children of one ward could be given seats in other wards if there were no schools in the wards where they were residing. The circulars had raised confusion among schools about the criterion for admitting students. He blamed Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar and Commissioner of Education Mohammed Mohsin for the “chaos”.

Mysuru department

Meanwhile Kantha, Education Officer (RTE), told The Hindu that the department had not “misused” the accounts by entering the passwords given to schools word given to the schools.

He added that receipts of applications and admissions were being made online this year. He said that the department in Mysuru was not aware of the passwords given to schools, which were given by the head office. Hence the question of misusing the online accounts by the department in Mysuru did not arise, he stressed.

Mr. Kantha further said that 4,138 seats were reserved under the RTE in Mysuru district, and all the seats except 191 seats were filled.