A total of 3,855 children were selected for admission for the 25 % seats reserved under the Right to Education Act across all the privately-run non-minority elementary and matriculation schools in the district on Wednesday.
Sources in the School Education department said that of all the schools for which applications were received, draw of lots was conducted in a total of 346 schools in the district, where the number of applications received was higher than the seats available under RTE Act.
Officials said that admission of another 971 children was kept pending since they had not submitted the necessary documents, as stipulated in the Act.
Earlier, copies of applications submitted online in the website of School Education department were downloaded and sent to the respective schools on Tuesday night. Draw of lots in schools was held in the presence of a representative from the School Education department and another from the district administration.
While expressing satisfaction over transparency in RTE admissions this year with online portal for applications and new regulations for draw of lots, a large number of parents also complained about lack of communication and considerable delay during draw of lots.
S. Shankari, who had applied for her child in a private matriculation school in K.K. Nagar, said that she got to know about the draw of lots only through newspapers in the morning. “Despite giving our mobile numbers in the application, we did not receive any notification via SMS or a call. It is highly likely that many people did not know that the process was happening today,” she said.
Substantiating the concern expressed by her, though the particular school had received nearly 200 applications, only around 20 to 30 parents turned up on Wednesday.
The draw of lots also witnessed delay in a majority of schools. A parent waiting in a school on Sivaganga Road said that they were made to wait till lunch break without any information.
Acknowledging the delay and lack of communication, a senior official from the School Education department said that there were delays in deputing officials to schools. “With a day’s notice, we had to depute representatives to all 346 schools. There were delays in getting people from the district administration,” he said. “Despite minor issues, the process has significantly improved transparency. Next year, I am sure the government will sort out other issues,” he said.
