Collapse of a four-year-old marriage almost led to child losing out on RTE admission

Nagpur: A child’s nursery admission under the free RTE quota in a well known CBSE school almost got cancelled due the breakdown of his parents’ four year-old marriage. The lockdown had triggered an economic crisis for the Duphare family (name changed) and proved to be the final straw for a relationship which was steadily going downhill. The child’s RTE admission form was filled when the parents were undergoing counselling by the city police’s Bharosa/Damini Cell. But now that they have informally agreed to end their marriage, the father refused to part with the caste certificate documents needed for the admission.
31-year-old Sujata (name changed) told TOI that her husband refused to take responsibility of their family and mostly remained aloof. “For the last couple of years, he refused to take financial responsibility and during the lockdown, made it clear that we should not expect anything from him in the future,” said Sujata.
Both of them are employed in private firms and their salaries had been put on hold due to the economic crisis forced by the lockdown. Sujata alleged that she was being pressured to move to the husband’s ancestral village. “There is no future for my son in the village because his education will get hampered. My husband knew I would refuse and that will give him a reason to blame me for the separation,” said Sujata.
Though Sujata took her son and moved out of her husband’s house at the start of the year itself, their ongoing counselling sessions through the police’s special cell meant that no formal separation had been done. Sujata rented a place in the same locality and was joined by her mother to help her out. Though Sujata moved out with most of her belongings, crucial documents were still at her husband’s house. “I had filed a second RTE admission application under ‘single mother’ category but still needed the caste certificate from my husband. He kept delaying it for a long time but finally due to pressure from Damini cell officials, he parted with it,” said Sujata.
With the crucial document in hand, Sujata’s son is now guaranteed a seat in the popular CBSE school under the free RTE quota. And there is clarity emerging for Sujata’s marital status as well. “Looking at the irrevocable differences, even our counsellors have advised us to go our separate ways. We all are meeting again on Monday and will formalize the timeline for the divorce proceedings,” said Sujata.