New RTE admission rules in UP: Govt issues guidelines to make enrolment easy, child's Aadhar number longer mandatory

The Uttar Pradesh government has made admission process easier for underprivileged children by eliminating the need for children's Aadhar cards. The state government has revamped the admission process for enrolment in private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

To remove the obstacles and contingencies in the admission process of disadvantaged groups and address the woes of parents seeking admission of their wards, UP government made this landmark move. Previously, Aadhar card of both parents and that of the child seeking admission were mandatory requirement while filing online application form for RTE admissions.

Reacting to the modification of admission process, Basic and Secondary Education Additional Chief Secretary Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma said, “Our effort is to make 'ease of living' a reality as far as possible, especially for the families genuinely belonging to disadvantaged groups, in the spirit of RTE,” Times of India reported.

Partha Sarthi issued a fresh set of directives declaring that the govt will provide financial aid under RTE only into the Aadhar-seeded bank accounts of parents. Those applying for admissions under the above-mentioned category will need to mention the Aadhar-seeded bank accounts while applying for admissions. This implies that the Aadhar card of one of the two parents will be needed as proof in the online application form for RTE admissions.

According to the order, Section 120(c) of the Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education Act, 2009, the district-wise annual targets for the admission of children will be determined up to a limit of 25% of the total capacity of the lowest entry class (Class 1 or pre-primary) of all unaided private schools operating in the district.

The directive detailing the new guidelines was issued to all DMs, who are also president of the District Education Project Committee (DEPC).

Eligibility: Age limit

• As per the age criteria, children aged 3 or above, but less than 4 years, will be eligible for admission to nursery.
• Those children who are 4 years or above, but less than 5 years, will be eligible for admission to Lower Kindergarten (LKG).
• Those children between 6 and 7 years of age will be eligible for Class 1.

Besides the age limit, the order mentions that all document verification will be done at the level of the Block Education Officer and Basic Shiksha Adhikari. Online lottery system will be used for the process of school allocation for applications approved by the DM/CDO.

The directive outlines a two-stage lottery process for school allocation

• Verified and approved applications will be shuffled online randomly.
• Allotment of schools will take place in lots of 100. Ascending order of the lottery number will be used to lot schools to each applicant based on their preference. The District Magistrate will approve the finalised list.