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Deserving kids hit another roadblock in the RTE admissions quota barrier
The admission process under RTE quota lists income certificate, caste certificate, residence proof and birth certificate as the documents necessary for admission. Most single mothers, including those who have separated from their husbands, are in a fix as mostly their children carry the father’s
Being a single mother has never been easy in the Indian Society given the weightage given to ‘proper’ families. Another difficulty has been added to the list of issues already battled by single mothers. Those who want to admit their children to school under RTE Act are finding it hard to provide the right documents to the authorities.
The admission process lists down income certificate, caste certificate, residence proof and birth certificate as the documents necessary for admission. However, single mothers, especially those who have separated from their husbands, are in a fix as mostly their children carry the father's surname and the authorities demand the original papers which the father refuses to part with, thus leaving the child out of the admission process.
Take Pradnya’s example, she is 25 and separated from her alcoholic husband and lives with her parents in a slum in Warje Malwadi. Currently working as a coordinator for Solid Waste Collection and Handling, she earns about Rs 14,000 per month. When her son turned 3 this year, she decided to send him to an English medium school, but the steep fees were a stumbling block.
She cannot even apply for the 25% reserved seats for EWS under Right to Education Act 2009 as her son carries his father's name and she cannot provide those documents for admission as the father refuses to give her the original documents.
Pradnya's current worry is to get him into a school under the RTE quota. "The procedure requires documents like his father's income certificate and caste certificate which he will not give. I tried to get my son's surname changed to my maiden name, but the official lectured me on how hard it was to live without a husband and that I will have to answer my son's queries about my actions," she added.
In other cases, where the mother has passed away and the father too has abandoned the child in the care of the maternal grandparents, such children too cannot produce original documents showing their fathers surname and thus lose out on admission under the act.
Education activists say that the government should actively look into these loopholes so that children who must rightly benefit from RTE are not left out.
Acting director of directorate of primary education Govind Nandede said, "This is serious and needs a careful study. We have to ascertain the number of cases and the problems the parent faces. We will then decide how to solve the problem without bending the RTE rules. We will send a proposal to the government to make the changes in the admission process."
Image Courtesy: http://www.povertyinsights.org