Hindi Medium goes from reel to real
As per school records, Dhyan Rabari resides in a bungalow in Thaltej : Pic:NILKANTH DAVE
RICH DADS TURN POOR DADS FOR RTE ADMISSIONS
Glaring discrepancies in admissions reveal poor students are not able to reap benefits of Right to Education. Several parents who paid hefty fees for their children in pre-primary sections avail of free education in Class 1 in the same schools after allegedly furnishing false income details
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education mandates private schools to compulsorily admit 25% children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, but the RTE admissions inAhmedabad schools are a sham, Mirror investigation reveals. In what looks like Bollywood film Hindi Medium playing out in real life, several well-to-do parents have been snatching the rights of the poor, robbing them of free education.
In many instances in city-based schools, there are students who studied in pre-primary sections after paying hefty fees but ‘converted’ their admission into RTE in Class 1 in the same school after their parents allegedly furnished false income details. The parents refuse to accept their fault. School authorities are helpless as they are asked by the education officials to grant admission while education officials assure action will be taken against the parents if found guilty after document verification.
RTE student lives in a bungalow in posh area Dhyan Kanubhai Rabari’s fee receipt of pre-primary section at Zebar School for Children mentions payment of Rs 72,500. However, the ‘disadvantaged’ child is now studying in Class 1 under RTE. When Mirror went to the address mentioned in his school records, it was a bungalow at Sunflower Society in Thaltej. When Mirror contacted Kanubhai Rabari, he said, “I am employed with a private firm. It is my boss who had paid for the fees of my child in pre-primary school. I stay in the bungalow on rent.”
However, no rent agreement has been submitted by Kanubhai to the school. Regarding Dhyan’s case, Manan Choksi, Executive Director of Zebar School for Children said, “RTE is a nice concept by the government but parents are misusing it and the purpose is not being served. We had drawn attention of the education official when we came to know he was the same student, but we were asked to give admission. I am hoping that proper investigation is held and RTE admissions of those found guilty of forging papers are suspended.”
Free admission but living in a Rs 40L flat
Mirror investigation found that Hiramani School has more than five such cases. These students had studied in the pre-primary section in the same school, paying Rs 20,000 as fees and have now taken admission under RTE. One such case is of a parent who owns a flat that has a market value of Rs 35-40 lakh. Henil Patel, who sought admission in Class 1under RTE, resides in Gala Celestia on Vaishnodevi Road. Henil’s father, Hiren Patel said, “It is my father who paid fees for my son in the pre-primary section. I work as a cable operator and earn around Rs 10,000 per month.”
Even though the father claims to be having financial constraints to fund his son’s education, he has taken a loan worth Rs 25 lakh to buy the house.
Early verification should help
Bhagwat Amin, CEO of Hiramani Schools said, “The issue begins with the income certificate which is issued by the Mamlatdar. The details submitted by the parent to the mamlatdar are not cross-verified before the income certificate is issued thus the fraud continues till the very end. These are parents who have paid fees regularly and availed of the school transportation. They suddenly became poor when the child entered Class 1. The needy remain without admission.” He added, “We are helpless and have to give admission otherwise the school is fined Rs 5 lakh by the education officials.”
AtPodar International School , Diya Patel’s first quarter fee receipt at the school’s Vastral branch mentions that the parent paid Rs 16,750 for Class 1. However, when the child got admission under RTE, the parent discontinued there and took admission in Chandkheda branch.
Her father Jaldip Patel said, “I have borrowed Rs 50,000 from my friend to pay fees of my daughter. I do service. I live in a rented house and pay Rs 2,000 rent every month to my brother-in law as it is his house. I am going to get the RTE admission of my daughter cancelled on Monday and will continue at Vastral branch.”
Sreenarayanan PC, principal of Podar International School, said, “RTE admissions are meant for disadvantaged members of the society and not for those who circumvent the guidelines and pretend to be disadvantaged. Let the law and officials be vigilant so that no deserving candidate misses a chance to get free education.”
It is to be noted that as per rule, the income limit of parents availing ad-mission under RTE for city is Rs 1,50,000 and for rural, it is Rs 1,20,000. So far, two rounds of RTE admissions are over while a third round is yet to be held. Out of 10,085 seats in DPEO Ahmedabad, 8,286 have been filled under RTE.
‘Duty of schools to inform about discrepancies’
Commenting about Podar International School’s Chandkheda branch, DPEO Gandhinagar Archana Prajapati said, “The school should inform us if they find any discrepancy. From our part, it is verified online. After the procedure of RTE admissions is over, 40% of the cases are verified. If the parent is found at fault, the admission is cancelled first and then a police complaint registered.”
Commenting on instances in Zebar, Hiramani and Podar (Vastral) DPEO (Ahmedabad) MN Patel said, “We have certain limitations. However, we will be checking income tax return or bank balance certificate to see if parents are genuine or not. In many cases, parents claim they do not own the bungalow or flat or that their relatives have paid the student’s fee. In such cases it becomes difficult to catch them red-handed.”
Asked why DPEO officials asked the school authorities to admit the student without checking for discrepancies, Patel said, “The school authorities were asked to give admission because at first instance it is difficult to prove that the parent is wrong.
There is a stipulated time in which the student has to be given admission in a school under RTE. So if in case, the school goes wrong and the time limit is over, it will become difficult to admit the student after that. Thus, if the parent is found guilty later, then action can be taken against him.”
Glaring discrepancies in admissions reveal poor students are not able to reap benefits of Right to Education. Several parents who paid hefty fees for their children in pre-primary sections avail of free education in Class 1 in the same schools after allegedly furnishing false income details
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education mandates private schools to compulsorily admit 25% children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, but the RTE admissions in
In many instances in city-based schools, there are students who studied in pre-primary sections after paying hefty fees but ‘converted’ their admission into RTE in Class 1 in the same school after their parents allegedly furnished false income details. The parents refuse to accept their fault. School authorities are helpless as they are asked by the education officials to grant admission while education officials assure action will be taken against the parents if found guilty after document verification.
RTE student lives in a bungalow in posh area Dhyan Kanubhai Rabari’s fee receipt of pre-primary section at Zebar School for Children mentions payment of Rs 72,500. However, the ‘disadvantaged’ child is now studying in Class 1 under RTE. When Mirror went to the address mentioned in his school records, it was a bungalow at Sunflower Society in Thaltej. When Mirror contacted Kanubhai Rabari, he said, “I am employed with a private firm. It is my boss who had paid for the fees of my child in pre-primary school. I stay in the bungalow on rent.”
However, no rent agreement has been submitted by Kanubhai to the school. Regarding Dhyan’s case, Manan Choksi, Executive Director of Zebar School for Children said, “RTE is a nice concept by the government but parents are misusing it and the purpose is not being served. We had drawn attention of the education official when we came to know he was the same student, but we were asked to give admission. I am hoping that proper investigation is held and RTE admissions of those found guilty of forging papers are suspended.”
Dhyan Rabari’s fee receipt of pre-primary section at Zebar School for Children mentions payment of Rs 72,500 . The ‘disadvantaged’ child is now studying in Class 1 under RTE
Free admission but living in a Rs 40L flat
Mirror investigation found that Hiramani School has more than five such cases. These students had studied in the pre-primary section in the same school, paying Rs 20,000 as fees and have now taken admission under RTE. One such case is of a parent who owns a flat that has a market value of Rs 35-40 lakh. Henil Patel, who sought admission in Class 1under RTE, resides in Gala Celestia on Vaishnodevi Road. Henil’s father, Hiren Patel said, “It is my father who paid fees for my son in the pre-primary section. I work as a cable operator and earn around Rs 10,000 per month.”
Even though the father claims to be having financial constraints to fund his son’s education, he has taken a loan worth Rs 25 lakh to buy the house.
Early verification should help
Bhagwat Amin, CEO of Hiramani Schools said, “The issue begins with the income certificate which is issued by the Mamlatdar. The details submitted by the parent to the mamlatdar are not cross-verified before the income certificate is issued thus the fraud continues till the very end. These are parents who have paid fees regularly and availed of the school transportation. They suddenly became poor when the child entered Class 1. The needy remain without admission.” He added, “We are helpless and have to give admission otherwise the school is fined Rs 5 lakh by the education officials.”
At
Her father Jaldip Patel said, “I have borrowed Rs 50,000 from my friend to pay fees of my daughter. I do service. I live in a rented house and pay Rs 2,000 rent every month to my brother-in law as it is his house. I am going to get the RTE admission of my daughter cancelled on Monday and will continue at Vastral branch.”
Sreenarayanan PC, principal of Podar International School, said, “RTE admissions are meant for disadvantaged members of the society and not for those who circumvent the guidelines and pretend to be disadvantaged. Let the law and officials be vigilant so that no deserving candidate misses a chance to get free education.”
It is to be noted that as per rule, the income limit of parents availing ad-mission under RTE for city is Rs 1,50,000 and for rural, it is Rs 1,20,000. So far, two rounds of RTE admissions are over while a third round is yet to be held. Out of 10,085 seats in DPEO Ahmedabad, 8,286 have been filled under RTE.
‘Duty of schools to inform about discrepancies’
Commenting about Podar International School’s Chandkheda branch, DPEO Gandhinagar Archana Prajapati said, “The school should inform us if they find any discrepancy. From our part, it is verified online. After the procedure of RTE admissions is over, 40% of the cases are verified. If the parent is found at fault, the admission is cancelled first and then a police complaint registered.”
Commenting on instances in Zebar, Hiramani and Podar (Vastral) DPEO (Ahmedabad) MN Patel said, “We have certain limitations. However, we will be checking income tax return or bank balance certificate to see if parents are genuine or not. In many cases, parents claim they do not own the bungalow or flat or that their relatives have paid the student’s fee. In such cases it becomes difficult to catch them red-handed.”
Asked why DPEO officials asked the school authorities to admit the student without checking for discrepancies, Patel said, “The school authorities were asked to give admission because at first instance it is difficult to prove that the parent is wrong.
There is a stipulated time in which the student has to be given admission in a school under RTE. So if in case, the school goes wrong and the time limit is over, it will become difficult to admit the student after that. Thus, if the parent is found guilty later, then action can be taken against him.”
Apartments where ‘poor’ RTE students Henil Patel and Diya Patel live
The issue begins with the income certificate which is issued by the mamlatdar. The details submitted by the parent are not cross-verified before the income certificate is issued
In many cases, parents claim they do not own the bungalow or flat or that their relatives have paid the fee. In such cases it becomes difficult to catch them red-handed.
We had drawn attention of the education official when we came to know he (Dhyan) was the same student, but we were asked to give admission. I am hoping proper probe is held
I am employed with a private firm. It is my boss who had paid for the fees of my child in pre-primary school. I stay in the bungalow on rent
Recent Messages ()
Please rate before posting your Review
SIGN IN WITH
Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.