11 RTE admissions in Panvel school fraudulent | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: Local authorities have recommended the cancellation of 11 more RTE admissions, this time in a Panvel school, on grounds that the students faked their residential addresses so that they could qualify to enrol under the Right to Education Act, 2009.

The recommendation has been made by the Raigad Zilla Parishad, which found discrepancies in the students’ residential addresses during a physical verification process.

In a separate but related development in April, the Panvel Municipal Panchayat Samiti had recommended the cancellation of 15 RTE admissions from the Vishwajyot High School in Kharghar. While recommending the 11 cancellation in the Ramseth Thakur Public School in Panvel, the zilla parishad also confirmed irregularities in the admission documents of 12 of the 15 students in the Kharghar school.

The action followed a complaint from a parent in the Kharghar school, after the second round of admissions. The complaint alleged that the school had admitted students based on fraudulent documents, prompting an investigation by the state education department.

These admissions relate to the Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates that all private schools reserve 25% of their seats for children from economically disadvantaged sections living within a 1 km radius of the school. To make the cut, students applying under the RTE Act, have been faking documents, including their residential addresses.

In the latest development, on April 21, Punita Gurav, education officer with the Raigad Zilla Parishad, wrote to the director of primary education, recommending the cancellation of admission of all 23 students – 12 students from the Kharghar school and 11 from the Panvel school. All 23 admissions were processed online and appeared valid, at first. However, documents submitted by the parents were fraudulent, necessitating an inquiry.

“After receiving the complaint, we asked the schools to conduct a thorough investigation. The families failed to provide proof of residence even after being given multiple opportunities,” the letter stated. The schools conducted a physical verification of the residential addresses provided by the RTE Act applicants and found that none of the families resided in the locations they had submitted, the letter stated.

If the admissions are cancelled, the 23 seats will be added back to the pool and made available in the upcoming third round of RTE admissions.