50K more RTE forms accepted, post glitch, rectification

Around 50,000 more applications from parents seeking RTE seats for their children have been accepted by the Department of Public Instruction after the applications were verified manually.

Taking into consideration these additional applications, the total number has gone up from 1,38,229 to 1,88,077. In a note issued by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), it has confirmed that out of 2,74,628 applications received, 1,88,077 have been considered for the lottery on Saturday.

The decision to consider these applications was taken after the department was flooded with complaints that even though details and documents were in order, applications were rejected.

Most of the parents had said that their applications were rejected due to issues in the pin code. This was confirmed by a source in the education department, who said that there was a glitch in the software, because of which the applications were rejected.

On Thursday afternoon, parents were in a state of shock when they received a text message from the DPI, asking them to report to the Block Education Officer’s office within 5.30 pm to have their documents verified.

Suresh, one of the parents, said, “This is the third time that I am receiving a text message to make corrections in the application forms even after I did what was required. When I went to the department seeking clarity, I was asked to ignore the messages if I had made the corrections,” he complained. “I was asked to go to the cyber centre at 5.30 pm and get a status update with attestation.”

Nagasimha G Rao, executive director, Child Rights Trust said that parents had several doubts on how they would be intimated about the results. “There is no clarity on whether they will receive text messages or they have to check online,” he said.

K Anand, director, Primary Education, said that there were no glitches in the software and that the genuine applications had been accepted after the BEOs checked them. “There was some confusion with pin codes. They have been rectified and considered,” he added.