Right to Education still a distant dream for poor kids

Updated on: Monday, April 30, 2012

While admission of their child in a good school is a game changer for many poor families, those who are left out of the race have nowhere to go. Parents say the indifference of private schools and some bad practices followed by them often come in the way of proper implementation of Right to Education. So their children have to go without a school despite being entitled to a fundamental right to study.

"My son is four and a half years old. But we haven't been able to enjoy any benefits of RTE so far. I had applied in 15 schools for his admission under the EWS quota this year but nothing helped. Not making it in the draw of lots is one thing, several schools do not even conduct a fair process," said Bhagwan Solanki, who recently went on a hunger strike against a private school in Rohini. He complained that the school did not reserve adequate number of seats for the economically weaker section while the directorate of education is sitting on the matter.

"Schools have found many loopholes with RTE. With the authorities putting a condition of one-kilometer distance, schools easily ignored many applications while conducting the draw of lots. They never came out with the number of vacant seats after that," said Solanki, who runs a small business. Another parent, Ajay Kumar Misra, has also been running from pillar to post to find admission for his son in nursery. "My child's name was on the waiting list in three schools. But they refuse to update me about any development. I was not even allowed to enter inside when I went there to enquire," he said.

India Against Corruption has brought such parents together who recently held a protest outside the Directorate of Education. According to DoE, more than 9,000 EWS seats are still vacant in private schools that will be filled up during summer vacation.

The government has assured that all those who had registered for a seat for their child at the entry level will now be placed in a school through DoE before July 

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