The Right to Education (RTE) provides for compulsory education for every child and it clearly states that no school should take entrance tests for admissions in the classes 1 to 8. The education department here has recently passed an order which strictly prohibits the schools from taking the entrance tests in admissions.
However, in open violation of the provisions of the Act, the Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya School (a State Government owned institution) here conducted an entrance examination for the students of class 6 on Sunday. Shockingly, the district education department which is the enforcing agency designated by the RTE to see that its provisions are not violated, organised and supervised the entrance examination in the Navodaya school on Sunday.
When contacted by this correspondent, Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Dehradun SP Khali accepted that the examination was conducted. When asked how the examination was conducted and does it not amount to violation of the RTE Act, the CEO agreed in principle that violation has occurred, but was non-committal when asked about what action the department would take against those conducted and supervised the entrance examination. Khali added that he will bring the matter to the notice of senior officials of the education department.
Principal of Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya School RP Bamola told The Pioneer that the entrance examination for 60 seats in class sixth was conducted at all the blocks of Dehradun district and a total of 612 students appeared out of 703 registered. He, however, claimed that the since Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya school is a residential school it does not comes under RTE.
He added that the school conducts the examinations for entrance in class sixth only. Bamola said that his school adopted chit picking method for admission (as advised under the RTE) in class sixth two years ago, but from last year the tests were reintroduced. The Uttarakhand Government opened the Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya schools in all the thirteen districts of the State; these schools are designed under the pattern of Jawahar Navodaya schools of the Central Government and help in providing quality education to the kids of the rural areas.
Private schools usually flout the RTE provision while giving admissions, these schools have found an escape route in assessment test in place of entrance examinations of the students. The education department normally penalizes the small private schools for violating the norms of the RTE and the big and famous schools enjoy unofficial immunity from the provisions of the act because of their clout.
Admission in charge of the Pine Hall School Dinesh Singh told that his school have stopped taking the admission tests to respect the provision of the RTE, he expressed anguish that many schools are violating the act and are escaping penalty.