BHUBANESWAR: Hundreds of parents on Monday gheraoed the Odisha State Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) office protesting the alleged irregularities in enrolment of students belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) in private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RCFCE) Act, in the current academic year.
The protesters, under the banner of Odisha Parents’ Federation, also locked the grievance cell of OSEPA seeking formation of a special committee under the SME department to oversee the admission process of students under EWS quota.
They alleged that apart from allowing more time to private schools for registration and reducing the time limit of eligible students to apply under the scheme by at least three days, the authorities concerned have even rejected 8,101 applications received through Paradarshi portal.
Claiming that documents submitted by these students were valid, the parents sought re-examination of the rejected applications. “There are also many schools where no allotment has been made under EWS quota despite the fact that these institutions have good number of seats for enrolment under the RCFCE Act,” they alleged.