Jamshedpur, Jan. 23: The district education department has sought details on the vacant seats at various English medium schools that declared their results on Saturday.
Bankey Bihari Singh, district superintendent of education, East Singhbhum, said that there are several schools that have not get students in the reserved category.
As a result, they either remain vacant or schools take admission of general students. The selection of students was either done through a manual or a computer based random selection. There are about 45 private English medium schools affiliated to CISCE or CBSE all of which declared their results.
�In view of the situation we have asked for the datas from schools as of now and schools will have to take approval if they come across such admissions,” said Bankey Bihari Singh, district superintendent of education, East Singhbhum.
As most of the reserved seats under the Right to Free and Compulsory Education, 2009 in private English medium schools do not get applicants, the district education department has decided to allot such seats to backward and economically poor students. Also, schools will have to take prior approval from the department for admission (in the reserved category) in case parents approach schools directly.
As per the officials of education department’s RTE cell, a list of various schools will be compiled with the available seats under the said category. When parents approach the office, they will allot them schools as per their areas. As per the RTE Act, students should seek admission in schools near to their residence. Some principals think, it is a relief as schools are not in a position to get students in this category.
According to the provisions of the RTE, 25 percent seats are reserved for the BPL students in each school but in the wake of lack of awareness among the beneficiary section hardly one percent of the BPL seats are filled up in the schools, at present.
�There is little ambiguity in the current RTE Act. Government must simply the regulating provision however, schools are keen to accommodate BPL students,� said an official of the Jamshedpur chapter of Private Unaided English Medium Schools.
Meanwhile, education department is just a catalyst in ensuring effective implementation of the RTE provisions. �The concerned government agencies should hurry up clearing the BPL documents enabling the beneficiary families to seek admission in the coming session,� said a middle run official at the district education department.