The District Education Officer (DEO) in Surat has initiated the process to cancel the admissions of at least 100 students after discovering that their seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act were obtained using fake documents and false declarations to present themselves as belonging to low-income families.
DEO Bhagirathsinh Parmar confirmed that investigations conducted by his office revealed significant discrepancies between the parents’ actual financial status and the details provided during admissions.
Parmar stated, “The parents of these children have a lifestyle way beyond the means they have declared. They go on foreign tours, live in luxurious flats and bungalows and own businesses.”
Parmar explained that the income proof document is mandatory for admission under the RTE quota. Acting on complaints from schools, the DEO’s office launched an investigation. “We have collected information and found discrepancies in the details they mentioned while securing admission,” he said.
According to Parmar, evidence gathered included information about parents who had travelled abroad, lived in luxurious homes, owned shrimp farms as well as textile factories and possessed vehicles such as cars and bikes.
He also noted that some had loans ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 60 lakh. When confronted, many parents either failed to provide satisfactory answers or remained silent. Parmar stated, “We have told them that if they want their children to continue their studies, they must pay the school fees. Otherwise, they should obtain a leaving certificate and seek admission elsewhere.”
On Friday, parents of over 20 students admitted through the RTE quota in L P Savani and S D Jain schools attended hearings at the DEO office after being summoned by the authorities.
The crackdown began six weeks ago following information that several students admitted under the RTE Act belonged to affluent families. The Act mandates that private schools reserve 25% of their seats for children aged six to 14 from underprivileged and weaker sections of society.
Sources revealed that the DEO team personally visited the homes of students to assess their actual financial conditions. Over the past month, hearings for more than 150 parents have been conducted, during which officials found discrepancies between the parents’ statements and the documents submitted for admission.
To qualify for RTE admissions, parents’ annual income must not exceed Rs 1.50 lakh in urban areas or Rs 1.20 lakh in rural areas.
Parmar confirmed that the verification process and hearings will continue. “So far, we have covered nine schools out of the 1,000 schools in Surat that provide admission through RTE,” he added.
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