Irregularities alleged in RTE allotment process

Children allotted seats in first round were placed in other schools in second round

Over 20 parents of children aspiring for an RTE quota seat in a private school are an unhappy lot as the school, which had allotted seats in the first round, has refused to admit them.

They were alloted seats in the second round in other schools in the vicinity.

Deepa, a parent and homemaker, said she was overjoyed when her son was allotted a seat in class one in K.L.E Society's School in Rajajinagar in the first round.

“But the school refused to admit our children. We were shocked when we were allotted seats in other schools. We have been allotted a seat in another school, but the quality of education is not as good as it is in KLE. We are unhappy with this arrangement,” a parent said.

While 41 students were allotted seats in class one, only 21 were admitted. The remaining 20 children were allotted seats in other schools.

Officials in the Department of Public Instruction said the school authorities had erred in entering details of students in the software, which led to an increase in the allotment of seats.

C. Suresh Kumar, activist with RTE taskforce, alleged that this showed irregularities in the online system and alleged that it lacked transparency. “All 20 parents have been allotted seats in other schools. This shows that the data has been tampered with to ensure that all these parents get seats. There is a need for the department to explain this,” he said.

The KLE school management could not be contacted.