This story is from February 23, 2019

Incorporating various quotas in software delays RTE admissions

Incorporating various quotas in software delays RTE admissions
Representative image
NAGPUR: Incorporating different quotas into RTE’s school admission software has delayed the 2019-20 admission process, which was scheduled on Monday.
A source, who is closely involved with the RTE admission process, told TOI that various quotas have been put into the software but it will take time before the system is up and running.
Officially, the new date is March 5 for parents to fill online application forms.
For the last two years now, the state government has been conducting RTE admission process in a fully online set up.
Parents fill the form online, following which a lottery is carried out by the software and the system then sends an SMS to selected parents. The only offline part is when parents go to their allotted school and complete admission formalities.
The new quota code in software will also include economically weaker sections as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But what is unique in RTE is that there is no quantifiable quota for any specific category.
The source in the education department said “There is no specific percentage allotted to anyone. The RTE quota is of 25% and in that everyone is eligible.” This basically means that everyone who figures in the quota list of the state can apply for admissions and the lottery software decides who makes it past the pole.

The other challenge which RTE software has to overcome is the discrepancy between income limits of two categories. The RTE rules placed a limit of Rs1 lakh annual income for the economically weaker section.
“But now, the government has put a cap of Rs8 lakh as the income limit. We have written to the government about the two contradicting things and are awaiting a decision. But I am confident that everything will be sorted out soon,” said the official.
According to activists, the software also has to take into account the mapping software. Shahid Sharif, founder of RTE Action Committee, said, “Parents have to mark their residence on Google Maps while filing the online admission forms. But the software is not working properly and creates a lot of problems for parents later. I have already written to the education department that this needs to be rectified.”
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