MDMK State Youth Wing secretary V. Eswaran has written to Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi demanding reforms in admission procedures under the RTE Act.
According to the Section 12 (1) (c) of the RTE Act, private schools “...shall admit in Class 1, to the extent of at least 25% of the strength of that class, children belonging to the weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion.” Eligible parents may apply through the website https://rte.tnschools.gov.in/ till August 3.
In his letter, Mr. Eswaran said that students can apply for admissions only in schools located within one km from their residence, according to the School Education Department. However, as many private schools are usually located farther than the stipulated distance, he urged the State government to increase the distance and communicate on how the distance between the school and residence would be measured.
He also urged the State government to bring an internal reservation within the RTE Act quota to ensure that the economically weaker sections are better accommodated. Mr. Eswaran also urged the government to include CBSE schools in the list of private schools and to monitor whether private schools are demanding fees for these RTE Act quota seats. The toll-free helpline 14417 introduced by the School Education Department must be improved further to provide clarifications regarding the RTE Act admissions.
