RTE intake process in CBSE schools to go online

With student admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools set to be made compulsory from the next academic year in the State, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to bring such admissions too under the online system, like it is being followed for intake into private matriculation institutions.

The RTE Act mandates 25 per cent reservation in admission for children belonging to the disadvantaged and weaker sections of society in all the self-financing schools at the entry-level.

A senior official from the School Education Department toldDT Next that a Government Order (GO) will soon be released through the Directorate of Matriculation Schools instructing CBSE schools to also admit students under RTE.

"Aiming to ensure transparency in the admission process in CBSE schools, online registration will also be introduced," the official said, adding that like how it is being done for matriculation schools, the government will facilitate online submission of student applications at block level education offices and e-Seva centres across the State.

The official also said that if the number of eligible applicants is more than the intake capacity of a school, a random selection method would be adopted in the presence of an officer deputed by the Chief Educational Officer of the district concerned. "Valid applications received to get admitted to CBSE schools, especially from orphaned children, children of HIV-infected parents, transgender children and children of scavengers, will be given priority and admitted before starting the random selection process," the official added.

Stating that nearly 10,000 students would be benefitted every year under the CBSE RTE scheme, the official said it would cost the exchequer more than Rs 30 crore as the government would reimburse the fees of the pupils to the concerned CBSE schools.

Further, the official pointed that after introducing RTE in the State, a total of 4.83 lakh students have joined private schools during the last five years with the help of the Tamil Nadu government, which took several measures, including online admissions for RTE.

Opposing the government’s move to encourage RTE even in CBSE schools, Tamil Nadu Teachers Association president P K Ilamaran said that State-run schools were rather losing lakhs of students due to the Right to Education Act.

Stating that the State is also spending about Rs 200 crore every year to reimburse fees to those private schools that admit students from underprivileged sections, Ilamaran said, “If the government continues to concentrate on RTE admissions, a stage will arrive leading to gradual closure of government schools”.