A day after several parents had trouble filling the online application form for the RTE quota in private unaided schools, obtaining the forms from offices of the Block Education Office on Monday also became difficult.
Some staff allegedly misguided parents by telling them that the process could only be done online. Nilofer, a resident of Pulakeshinagar, who went to the office of the BEO (North Range 3), said, “I was directed to a photocopy shop near the office where I paid Rs. 3 to obtain two forms.” She added that the education department is yet to publish the list of seats available under the quota on the notice board.
Software glitch
Parents, who wished to apply online, said that the BEO offices did not have the necessary infrastructure to help parents submit forms online. Helpline centres set up by NGOs were also not able to help as a technical glitch prevented parents from submitting the forms online.
The Department of Public Instruction issued a notice stating that a software problem was caused by several people logging on to the portal at the same time. It urged parents not to panic, as there is a month’s time to apply and said that “all eligible students under RTE would be admitted in schools”.
Despite the glitches, 697 applications were submitted till 5.30 pm on Monday.
