Bengaluru: When the Right to Education Act was implemented in Karnataka in 2012, Preethi C was the first kid from her slum to get admitted under that quota. But when she entered class 5 this year, Preethi has no school to go to which will admit her under the 25% quota. Without free education, Preethi stares at an uncertain future.

Around 15 schools in Frazer Town, mostly aided minority ones, have been given the option of opting out of the RTE ambit. Now, parents and RTE activists have been told that kids cannot enter the schools until they pay the fees.

Preethi, a student of St Rock's Girls High School, wants to teach in the same school, some day. "I love this school and the education is very good," said Preethi, adding, "I hope I don't have to quit studies."

In the past four years, over 250 children from different slums in the locality were admitted to schools like St Aloysious English Primary School, St Antony's Boys School and St Rock's Girls' High School under the RTE quota.

But parents are at their wits' end. On Tuesday, Malar and Kumari were asked to come to their sons' school, St Aloysius English Higher Primary School. "They demanded we either pay the fees or take our sons away. We brought them back. Why are they troubling those who joined before it became a minority school?" asked Malar.

Kumari said, "For my class 1 son, I have to pay Rs 7,500 towards school fees and additional fees for books and uniforms. I work in five homes but to raise this kind of money, I'll have to work 24/7."

Commmitted to education

* Six members of a family are crammed into a small room at a slum and they can't afford delicious food or the latest gadgets. The kids have gruel for every single meal. But this doesn't deter them from aspiring for a good education. Aishwarya B's class 4 report card shows has scored nothing below A+ in all subjects. Her teacher's remarks range from ‘Excellent' to ‘Outstanding'. Her parents, Kokila, a domestic help, and Bhasker, a balloon seller in Commercial Street, are in a dilemma. "If required, I'll sell my utensils to a nearby shop and raise the money," he said.

* Mohammed Idris and Mansoor Ahmed are the only sons in their families, with four older sisters each. While Idris' father suffers from tuberculosis, Mansoor's father is paralyzed on the right side. These class 4 students are facing the brunt of the loopholes in the RTE system. Mansoor's mother now wants to send him to work with some carpenters. "We took the Transfer Certificate from the school and now he's at home. At least if he goes to work, he'll earn something for the family," she said.

BEOs criticised

M Balaraj, member of the RTE task force, and Yasir Mohammed, a local activist, have taken up 40 such cases in Frazer Town and criticize Block Education Officers for not talking to school managements on this issue.

"Every time a complaint is lodged with BEOs, they ask us to go there again after 15 days. Then, they say the schools haven't responded to notices and want us to come back after 10 days," said Balaraj.

Yasir said, "The department is working for the RTE students but BEOs mess it up. On the one hand, they give assurances to parents but come across as though they're favouring the schools."

TOI tried contacting schools in question but they were unwilling to respond.

Principalspeak

We haven't sent away any student. Parents are required to renew the documents they provided us at the beginning of the child's education under the quota. Every year, there are fake documents which I don't accept. The fees per annum is Rs 5000 and there's a concession of Rs 2500 for those who show they're from low income families. What more can we do?

Fr Deva Dass | principal, St Aloysius Primary School

Exemption

As per a 2014 rule, the Supreme Court had ordered that all minority schools aided or unaided, will be exempted from the RTE purview. According to sources within the department, between 2015 and 2016, there were around twenty schools who converted to religious or linguistic minority status in Bengaluru alone. However, the department as such is yet to release the formal documents for the same. According to the sources, this practice of conversion from non-minority to minority is in order to avoid the free education system under RTE quota. However, according to some of the schools, it had become impossible to run on the government provided funds and also provide free education along with having a staff to pay for.

filed by deepika/Cleared by sita/es



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