Right to Education Act- Process of Admission

Salient Features of RTE

• Makes Elementary Education Free
•  The ‘compulsion’ being on the governments rather than on parents
• The stress on ending discrimination, and on inclusion
• Prescribing quality principles for the teaching-learning process
• An external constitutional body for monitors the Act
• Minimum norms and standards are defined for the school
• Focusses on addressal of emotional, stress and anxiety issues of children
• Mandates education of children along their peer age group (“age-appropriate”); provides for “special training” to facilitate age appropriate education
• Sets quality norms for all schools
• Sets qualification and working norms for Teachers in all schools

Process of Admission

For the Parent:

Parents to register their child for the Admission Process by submitting the completed Registration Form at the School Office to the Admission Coordinator along with all the required documents.

• Scrutiny of Applications: The applications received will be scrutinized and list of eligible applicants will be compiled.
   
• Admission Processing: In case applications are in excess of the available seats, lots will be drawn in the presence of the representative from State Education Department. The list of selected applicants will be put up on the school notice board and website along with a waiting list.
   
• Admission Confirmation: The admission will be confirmed after the completed Admission Form is submitted along with required documents in original.

Documents Required:

• Birth certificate or written submissions by parents on the age of the child may be accepted as age-proof at the time of admission
• Income certificate
   

Eligibility: A Child must be 5 years old as on 31st March in the academic year in which admission is sought for Class I.    
        

For the School: 

Mandatory 25% reservation for students belonging to disadvantaged and weaker sections

• Number of students can be extended if the admissions are not filled up within the customary 1km radius.
   
• The Act says ‘at least 25%’ instead of ‘at least and no more’, which implies that a school could offer to take more than 25% children.
   
• Each school has to notify the block education officer (BEO) so as to calculate the availability of seats under the quota, school -wise, and notify it to the parent teacher associations and community through public display.
   
• No child can be failed or expelled.

Reimbursement of fees: The total expenditure per child will be determined by the school and submitted to the BEO along with evidence to support the expenditure.

• The managements have been asked to divide the total annual expenditure by the total number of students, both free and payment quota, to arrive at per child expenditure.
   
• The government has stated that the reimbursement will be made on the basis of the allocation made per child towards the education or the fee collected from a student, whichever is less.