Keep admissions in schools open for weaker sections till June 1'

In a meeting held in the city on Thursday, the civil society members came to a mutual conclusion that an appeal be made to the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and Commissioner of the State Education Department to relax the rules for admission process as per its circular to facilitate implementation of the 25% quota rule in all concerned schools from this academic year itself.

Many schools have completed their admission processes already which is in fact a violation of the norms set by the state government which states that April 30 is the last date for accepting applications. Lolaksha, AHINDA leader, suggested that an appeal be made to the authorities to relax the rules and extend the date of accepting applications and begin the admission process afresh.

“Let authorities order the schools to quash the admissions that they have done already and refund the fees back to the ones who have sought admission and start the admission process again. Let schools keep their doors open for children eligible under the 25% quota provided by the RTE till June 1, i.e. the day of commencement of classes” he said.

He also said that the government needs to clear the ambiguity in terms of the details of the 25% quota and the admission process soon.

Renni D'Sousa of Padi VALORADE sharing his observations about the RTE rules notified by the state government said that in the SDMC section, the state government has left out minority and SC/ST representatives in the committee which was present in the Panchayat Raj norms earlier.

He added that quality of education will be a matter of concern as schools are expected to pass children till 8th standard. The certificate issuing authority shoulders a lot of responsibility in evaluating the child's performance in this scenario, he said.

It has also been planned that a workshop be organized soon to create awareness about the latest RTE developments among the masses inviting representatives from various parts of the district. Plans of a vehicle jatha and mobile awareness campaign are also in the pipeline.