In Dakshina Kannada district RTE seats are only there in Mangaluru South BEO and North BEO jurisdictions

MANGALURU: As many as 300 seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act out of 424 allotted seats in Dakshina Kannada district are likely to remain vacant . So far, only 118 students have applied, and already allotment of seats for two rounds are over.

This academic year RTE seats were reduced to just 424 from the earlier allotted seats of 2,727 in the district. However, even then, it has no takers due to an amendment in the rules.

Vishwanatha, nodal officer , RTE, Dakshina Kannada, said the prime reason for less number of applicants is the amendment, where existing RTE rules were changed in order to improve the enrolment in government schools, which are witnessing closure.

Interestingly, in Dakshina Kannada, RTE seats are only applicable in Mangaluru South and North BEO jurisdiction, and technically the rest of the BEOs have no seats under the act in private schools. Among 96 schools coming under RTE jurisdiction, there are only 10 private schools which fall under north and south BEOs. Parents usually prefer private schools over government or aided government schools. “Due to these rules, there have been less applicants compared to previous years. It is expected that around 300 RTE seats will remain vacant,” he added.

The nodal officer further added that currently the highest number of RTE seats in the first and second rounds are allotted only in Mangaluru North and South blocks. According to RTE norms, 25 percent of seats in the neighbourhood unaided schools are set apart for economically weak children and disabled children. Among 424 seats, the first preference is given to SC/ST students in the first and second rounds. If the seats still remain vacant, the seats are converted to general category seats and allotted to others. “We doubt that there will be a third and final round this time since there are less applicants,” he said.

No applicants from Sullia

Among all seven BEOs in Dakshina Kannada, Sullia has no applicants for RTE seats. The highest number of applications were received in Mangaluru North (62), followed by Mangaluru South (28), Bantwal (20), two applications from Belthangady and three applications each in Moodbidri and Puttur.

