Errors committed by private school managements as well as department officials have left hundreds of parents and students, who were allotted seats under the RTE quota, in the lurch.
Even though the next academic year is all set to begin next week, some parents are running from pillar to post as their children have been allotted RTE seats in at least nine schools that are closed. In another instance of bungling, two schools where seats have been allotted for class one do not have a primary section.
Another blunder is of allocating seats in the third round that had already been allotted in the second round. This, officials point out, is because school managements failed to update the data leading the seats to be added to the seat matrix in the third round.
The representative of a school in Vijayanagar said that admissions for 63 seats were completed in the first and second rounds. “Although our RTE quota seats were full, some more parents insisted that their children had been allotted seats in our school,” he said and added that the error had taken place as the server was slow.
However, RTE Students and Parents Association general secretary B.N. Yogananda said that the Education Department should make alternative arrangements for such students. “Both school managements and department officials are passing the buck. There is just a day left for schools to begin. Where should students go?”
Many Block Education Officers that The Hindu spoke to conceded the errors in the system and said that they are now exploring the possibility of accommodating such students in other schools.
