RTE activist under scanner for taking money from parents; cries foul play

BENGALURU: Over two weeks into the RTE application process, controversies unfurled at the block education office in Rajajinagar (North 1) on Friday. The BEO alleged that an RTE activist named Suresh Kumar extorted money from parents and promised a seat under the 25% quota.
BEO B Govinde Gowda in his letter stated that Suresh Kumar would sit outside the office and take money from parents in exchange for submitting their applications to the office through the new online process.A parent’s complaint to the BEO also read that Kumar had taken Rs 120 from many parents ,in exchange for completing and submitting their application forms. He even gave them a receipt under the name of the Education Rights Trust (ERT), a registered organization helping parents through the RTE process.
The trust was established in December last year by a group of auto drivers cum RTE activists who wished to spread more awareness about the RTE process and give more clarity to parents. Suresh Kumar is among the founding members of the trust.
However, seeking strict action against Kumar, the BEO has urged the education department to file a complaint against him for extorting money from poor parents. Adding to this, a video of Suresh Kumar taking the money from a parent began circulating on social media.
Responding to this, Kumar told TOI, “Parents have been misled regarding the processes of RTE admissions since it began in Karnataka. We have all been victims of the same. Nobody knows what needs to be done after the applications have been submitted. It is with this view that we began the trust and have clearly notified parents through pamphlets that only if they can and want to, they could give us a sum of Rs 120 so we can strengthen our operations.”
“This has been done to frame our organization and me. I have been wrongly accused and jailed even before for standing up for the right to education. I don’t have any shame in doing it but I am absolutely honest about not having cheated any parent,” Suresh Kumar added.