Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister of State for Fisheries and Youth Empowerment, on Friday directed the Department of Public Instruction to take immediate steps to fill all the seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
Speaking at the general body meeting of the Zilla Panchayat, here, Mr. Madhwaraj said he would take up the issue with the Deputy Commissioner at a district-level review meeting to be held on Saturday. The fact that over 55 per cent of RTE seats not being filled was unacceptable, he said.
Earlier, raising the issue, Gitanjali Suvarna said there was a lot of problem in getting admission for seats under the RTE Act. Diwaker Shetty, Deputy Director of Public Instruction said there were a total of 1,167 seats under the RTE Act in the district, but so far only 435 seats had been filled. The remaining seats were yet to be filled because of contradictions in government guidelines, he said.
Intervening, Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, said the latest government circular had made it clear that a committee under the Deputy Commissioner could take steps to fill the seats. Some parents, who were earlier informed that their children had been selected, had later been told that they were not. Some of them admitted their children to government schools, he said.
Mr. Madhwaraj wondered if the Department of Public Instruction had joined hands with private school managements on this issue. To which, Mr. Shetty said these seats in private schools were still vacant and not filled up.
Janardhan Tonse, member, said the police had suddenly started cracking down on autorickshaws and van drivers for carrying more children and other violations. But due to this crackdown, the parents and school children were affected.
The parents now had to take their children to the schools. The police should give at least some time for the autorickshaw and van drivers and parents to make alternative arrangements, he said.
But Pratapchandra Shetty, MLC, said government rules and court guidelines on this issue should be followed and there should be no compromise on the issue of children’s safety.
Intervening, Mr. Madhwaraj said a middle path had to be found to resolve the issue with priority given to children’s safety.
Intervening, Shobha Karandlaje, MP, said a short-term plan of one year was needed to ensure the safety of children being ferried in autorickshaws and vans and a long-term plan, which could be implemented next year should also be drawn up.
Under the long term plan, schools should be helped by banks to purchase buses and vans, she said.
