Mumbai: With the
proposed government guidelines on the Right to Education Act nowhere in
sight, many city schools have enrolled students under the 25% RTE quota,
despite the risk that such admissions could be declared illegal later.
The government notification containing guidelines and schedules for the
implementation of the RTE Act was to be issued in November 2012. Many
schools had delayed the admission schedule waiting for the notification
to be passed.
Najma Kazi, principal of Anjuman Islam Girls High
School, Byculla, said, “How long can we keep waiting for the
notification? Being an aided institution, the RTE quota is applicable to
our Urdu school. Around 150 of the 240 students have secured admission
through this quota.”
Last year, the education department had
termed admission process that did not follow the official government
timetable as illegal. The schools accused of illegal RTE admissions have
not yet received the RTE grants from the government for those
admissions.
Amita Katyal, principal of Pawar Public School,
Kandivli, said it is risky to fill the RTE seats without the
notification. “The story remains the same every year. If we keep waiting
for the notification, our admission process will get delayed. We have
invited applications for seats under the quota and admitted the three
students, who had applied under the category,” she said.
Some
schools have kept 25% seats vacant for RTE students. Anjana Prakash,
principal of Hansraj Morarji Public School, Andheri said, “We will not
begin our admission process for the quota, unless we receive a
notification from the government.”