Most government schools do not have pre-primary sections

With the new amendment in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education rules, which prioritises government over private schools, pre-primary education will not be available to students from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities from the 2019-20 academic year. A majority of government schools do not have pre-primary classes (LKG and UKG) and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is not opening seats in private unaided schools under the RTE quota for the coming academic year.

The move has left parents hoping to send their children to kindergarten under the quota in the lurch. “Even if the department does not reverse the amendment, it should at least ensure that students get a seat under the quota in private schools at the LKG level as government schools have classes only from standard one onwards,” said B.N. Yogananda, general secretary of RTE Students and Parents’ Association.

The department on Wednesday night released the provisional unit-wise neighbourhood school list: 2019 on its website. While all the schools in the neighbourhood are listed, department officials said parents will only be allowed to apply to a government school available in the vicinity.