RTE clause on free education to poor children implemented in a transparent way: official

The School Education Department has completed the admission process for free education of children from marginalised communities under Section 12 (1) (C) of the Right to Education Act

The School Education Department has completed the admission process for free education of children from marginalised communities under Section 12 (1) (C) of the Right to Education Act that mandates private unaided schools to set aside 25% of the seats for them at the entry-level, for the academic year 2023-24.

A statement released by Commissioner, School Education, S. Suresh Kumar said in adherence to the rule book, the admissions were made in two phases based on online lottery system.

A notification for admissions was released through GO no. 24 on February 26, 2023. He said 45,372 applications were received, of which, 27,648 applicants exercised their web options. As many as 25,438 applicants were found to be eligible under a six-step validation process, said the Commissioner, adding that 26,279 applicants were allotted schools but only 18,749 of them admitted their wards in the allotted schools.

He said the District Education Officers and Additional Project Coordinators from Samagra Shiksha in the State were tasked with proper implementation of the clause. The Department also coordinated with the Director of gram and ward sachivalayams to provide online services to children for submission of applications at free of cost at every village/ward secretariat and provided a toll-free number (14417) throughout the process of admission to help parents of the children get their doubts clarified, he said.

He said the RTE clause had been successfully implemented by the Department for the academic year 2023-2024 in a transparent manner, duly following the interim orders of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, from time to time.