Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today directed the state education department to take strict action against the schools which refuse admissions to students under the Right To Education (RTE) Act.
Fadnavis issued the direction while participating at an interaction program on 'Lokshahi Din' (democracy day) where he listened to complaints of people from across the state through video conference.
Video-conference was used for the program for the first time today, coinciding with the National Technology Day.
The citizens, sitting in the office of the respective district collector, spoke to Fadnavis (who was sitting in state secretariat here) through video conference.
"It is necessary to implement the RTE. Strict action will be taken against all those schools which do not give admissions under the act," Fadnavis said in response to a complaint from the Thane district.
RTE provides for a quota in private schools for the children from under-privileged classes.
He also directed officials to ensure that caste verification certificates were issued within six months.
District collectors and chief executive officers from Nagpur, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Satara, Bhandara, Nashik, Jalgaon, Pune and other places except Mumbai and Navi Mumbai participated.
In Maharashtra, the 'Lokshahi Din' programme takes place on first Monday of every month at municipal, district collectorate and Mantralaya levels (state secretariat).
