The Maharashtra government is pushing hard to convert the entire process of submission of applications and admission of the students to different schools under the Right To Education (RTE) quota online.
The state today issued a GR (government resolution) directing the schools that the online admission process should initiate in January and get over by April.
The government had been trying to convert the system online since the past two years, although it had experienced glitches and received several complaints in this regard.
The School Education Department has made it mandatory for eligible schools to take part in the online process for students seeking admission under the RTE. It has given 15 days time to the schools to enrol for the online system and provide information about 25% quota of admissions.
"Every school should publish detailed information about the RTE, its eligibility criteria and its procedure for better understanding of parents," the GR stated.
It also asked the school authorities to provide the same information on the website and release a video clip about it.
The RTE has made it clear that students residing within one kilometer from the school should be given priority. Referring to it, the GR said that parents should provide detailed address of their residence, so that it will be easier for the schools to determine the eligibility.
Distances would be measured with the help of Google Map service; hence minor variations in the distance (on map and in reality) should be permissible for admitting students, the RTE has said.
The GR made it clear that school authorities will not be allowed to verify the documents provided by the parents, especially the income certificate. "It will be verified by the tehsildar (a revenue department official). If the income certificate is fake, then the student's admission will be cancelled," it said.
"If a student gets allocation for more than one school, then the parents should finalise one of the schools within the given time. Once a school is selected, the admission will not be cancelled," the GR said.
The Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT) in Pune will oversee the admission process.
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