-PTI
Relaxing rules for admission of children of weaker sections in private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, Madhya Pradesh government has directed the concerned schools to provide admission on a first come first serve basis, official sources said today. Under the Act, 25 per cent seats are reserved for children of weaker sections of the society. Despite efforts to fill these seats, there are vacancies in many schools following which the School Education Department has issued fresh instructions to the district collectors on the issue, the sources said. Now, admission on these seats will be given on a first come, first serve basis instead of the earlier system of a lottery, they said. So far 1.41 lakh students against the total vacancy of 1,70,987 lakh seats have been admitted in different private schools of the state. Now, there will be no need of lottery system for random selection of children against the vacant seats since the number of applications is still lesser than the available seats, they said. Under the new guidelines, instructions have been given that if an application is moved by a child residing in the neighbourhood where the school exists or from the border of extended neighbourhood, he will be given admission to the school directly. Parents can also submit an application in prescribed proforma to District Education Officer for admission to private school, the sources added.