The Department of School Education is yet to announce the revised schedule for processing the applications received by private schools to admit students under the quota created by the Right to Education (RTE) Act despite the academic year having begun on Monday.
Till this year, private schools, which are mandated to set aside 25 per cent of their total seats for children from socio-economically weaker sections, had to issue applications between May 2 and 9.
This year, a Madras High Court order mandated them to issue applications for RTE Act quota seats till May 18 and, after scrutiny, announce the selected applicants on May 23.
Last dateSubsequently, the State Government extended the last date for issuing applications to May 31.
Official sources told The Hindu here on Tuesday that the Directorate of Matriculation Schools was yet to announce the revised dates for scrutinising the applications or selecting the candidates.
Following this uncertainty, the officials have instructed private schools in the city to proceed with the admission process and come out with the list of admitted candidates.
As per an official list, 5,584 seats in LKG were set aside for the RTE Act quota in nearly 267 matriculation schools and 220 primary schools in Coimbatore district. As on May 31, a total of 4,523 candidates had submitted applications.
V. Easwaran, state youth wing secretary of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , said that the State Government had failed to adopt even basic precautions in such an important issue.
“The Government is failing in its basic duty. Without any information from the Department of School Education, how will parents who had applied for RTE Act quota seats follow up with the private schools,” he asked.
Further, he added that with the academic year having already begun, the Department should not drag its feet much longer. If the process was delayed for much longer, all schools would have finished admissions and parents will have nowhere left to go.
