Rent agreement as address proof for RTE admissions being examined

Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that the government would consider relaxing norms on furnishing of documents as address proof for admission to schools under the Right to Education (RTE) quota.

Replying to Janata Dal (S) member Y.S.V. Datta, he said the government would consider the suggestion to direct authorities to consider the rent agreement as the main document for residential address proof instead of other documents.

Earlier, Mr. Datta pointed out that as per RTE norms, students seeking admission are required to submit documents prescribed by the Election Commission for voting, such as Electors Photo Identity Card as address proof. The rent agreement is being considered only as a supporting document.

However, a large number of poor parents who seek admission for their wards under the RTE Act are migrant labourers. They do not have the documents prescribed by the EC, Mr. Datta said. He urged the government not to insist on producing such documents for RTE admissions.

The Minister said he would examine the suggestion.

Erring schools

In his written reply to BJP member S. Suresh Kumar, Mr. Ratnakar admitted that there were some private schools denying admission to poor students under the RTE. The government had not only written to all the schools, but had also recommended to the authorities concerned to cancel the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSC) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) affiliations of erring schools, he said.

Replying to another un-starred question by BJP member Muniraju, the Minister said 92,543 students had secured admission to private schools in the State in 2014-15 under the RTE quota. While 73,440 students had got admission under the RTE quota in 2013-14, the number had stood at 49,259 in 2012-13, he said.