RTE response poor, measures to fill up seats

HUBLI: The education department is taking measures to create awareness about RTE at the grassroots level. The department has taken this decision after an overall review of the implementation of RTE in the district and found that it had recorded poor response.
According to J N Nandan, nodal officer, RTE, Dharwad district, there were 3,036 seats under RTE last year and they had received around 2,094 applications for admission.But only around 1,724 children got admission under RTE in the district the previous year.
Nandan told TOI that the main reason for the low admission rate was lack of awareness among parents and schools. So we have chalked out plans to create more awareness at a meeting convened by the DDPI recently, he said.
He added: "As part of the effort to make RTE more successful, the education department has formed various teams led by the respective BEOs in each taluk to create awareness, besides school principals will hold meetings with their teachers and instruct them to visit surrounding areas of their schools and meet the parents to convince them to send their children to school under RTE," he said.
"Now, each family which is entitled to RTE benefits will be enlightened about the facilities available under RTE and how it will change the lives of their children for the better. The education department has decided to fill all the RTE seats in the district by creating more awareness about RTE by issuing pamphlets, banners and conducting street plays in villages. The BEOs will conduct meetings with parents, managemenst of the schools and corporators of the wards in this regard," he added.
Ashok Shettar, educationist, said that last year being the first year of implementation of RTE, there was not enough awareness created among people. But this year more attention has been given to RTE and definitely these kind of initiatives will help fill RTE seats in the district, he said.