BENGALURU: With complaints pouring in from parents about their children not getting seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act in premier schools in their neighbourhood, the state government has decided to give preference to kids from BPL families from the next academic year.
Over three lakh applications have been received seeking seats in premier schools under the RTE Act in 2015, and a large number of kids have not been given seats.
Disclosing this to reporters here on Tuesday, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar said the government is considering more stringent norms to ensure seats for children from eligible families.
The government is also coming out with measures to prevent parents from applying for seats in schools which are not in their neighbourhood by furnishing false information of their addresses.
Parents will be directed to submit only one application seeking seat in one school. They will be asked to produce voter ID-card and other address proofs to prevent them from applying for seats in schools which are not in their neighbourhood. Admission will be given to children in schools which are located close to their residence, Ratnakar said.
According to the Centre’s definition, a family with an annual income of Rs 27,000 or less will be considered a below poverty line (BPL) household.
The state government set about 15 other parameters for families to qualify as BPL households.
To claim seats under RTE quota, the annual income of the child’s parents should not be over Rs 3.5 lakh. Preference is given to those families with annual income of Rs 1 lakh or less while there is no income limit for SC and ST families.
Yoga Day Not Mandatory
Ratnakar said celebrating International Yoga Day on June 21 in schools across the state is not mandatory. Unlike the directive to CBSE schools, the state government will not issue a circular to schools or pre-university colleges to celebrate the day.
The Higher Education Department, in contrast, has issued a circular directing all colleges and universities to celebrate International Yoga Day.