Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Parents’s Federation has alleged that some private schools in Bhubaneswar were not allowing free admission to students citing lack of seats despite letter from the BEO.
In a letter to the block education officer (BEO), Bhubaneswar, the Federation stated that the Director, Elementary Education had drawn up the list of students for free admission of students to Class I through lottery and sent it to the BEO. The BEO had forwarded the letter to all the schools and the students were supposed to take admission after April 2.
At least 10 schools in the city refused admission on the ground that they had not received the latter from the BEO, Bhubaneswar. Some schools also cited that they did not have seats for this year for admission to Class I.
The Federation has submitted the list of following schools:
BJEM Schools, BJB nagar
St Xavier’s High School, Khandagiri, Satya Nagar and Kedargouri
Narayana School, Patia, Unit-VIII
GEM Schools, Dumuduma
DAV Public School, Kainga Nagar
NIST Public School
Vikas School, Khandagiri
Saraswati Sishu Mandir, Unit VIII
Saraswati Sishu Mandir, Lingaraj Viahr, Pokhariput
KIIT School, Patia
Stating that the last day of admission has been fixed on April 6, the parents said the reluctance on the part of the schools will further delay the process and hamper the education of the students. Besides, it violated that provisions of the RTI Act, they added.
They said these schools violated the Right to Education Act 2009 (RTE) guideline of 25% seat reservation for free admission of students from the economically weaker sections (EWS).
Considering these facts, the parents have appealed to the BEO to look into the matter and take necessary steps. They have also approached the Chief Minister’s office and Director, Elementary Education in this regard.
