231 seats under RTE quota lying vacant in district

MYSORE: Though there is a raise in rate of admission under Right to Education (RTE) quota, 231 seats are lying vacant in 456 unaided schools of the district.
Of the 4,486 seats available under RTE, 3,943 seats have been filled, while 312 applications are in the waiting list. "This means 231 seats are remaining," said Chandra Pateel, deputy project coordinator of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Here's the taluk-wise break-up of available seats as against filled ones: HD Kote - 465; 242, Hunsur taluk - 337; 327, KR Nagar - 237; 231, Mysore North - 867; 867, Mysore Rural - 880, 683; Mysore South - 814, 741; Nanjanagudu - 355; 350, Periyapatna - 189; 162; and T Narasipur - 342; 340.
"Seats under RTE quota have almost been filled in unaided schools coming in Mysore Urban. In rural areas, people prefer to send their children to nearby schools. They are less likely to send their children to unaided schools if they are located at a distance. The standard of such schools is another concern for people," said Venkatarama, a superintendant at the DDPI office.
"This year, we created awareness before starting the admission process under RTE. Last year, 13 private schools rejected admission under RTE. (However) this year, they made admissions following a DDPI order," he said.
"Compared to last year, the rate of enrolment has increased from 65% to almost 95% this year," said H R Basappa, DDPI (Mysore).
In 2013, of the 6,755 seats available under RTE quota, 4,980 were filled. In 2012, of the 5,305 seats, only 829 seats were filled.