Seventh Day School denied RTE admission to 8,000 students in 9 years: Ahmedabad DEO

Around 8,000 students were allegedly denied admission under the Right to Education (RTE) Act by Ahmedabad’s Seventh Day School over the past nine years, the District Education Officer (DEO) has said following an inquiry into the institution.

The findings emerged after a probe by a DEO-appointed committee into the functioning of the school, which has been under government administration for the past few days after a Class 10 student was stabbed on its premises and later succumbed to his injuries.

According to the Ahmedabad city DEO, the school failed to submit a minority certificate for its primary section despite repeated notices from authorities. In the absence of such certification, the institution is required to implement the mandatory 25% reservation under the RTE Act for students from economically weaker and lower-middle-class families.

“Despite several notices and demands by the inquiry committee as per the RTE norms, the school did not submit the minority certificate for the primary section. Without the certificate, it is mandatory to grant 25% admissions under RTE,” the DEO said.

Officials alleged that by failing to comply with RTE provisions, the school denied nearly 8,000 eligible children admission over nine years.

Authorities further claimed that if fees are calculated as per norms laid down by the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC), the school may have collected over Rs 19 crore from seats that should have been allotted under the RTE quota.

The DEO clarified that while the school possesses a minority certificate for classes 9 to 12, the primary section, operated under the name Ashlock Trust, does not have minority status. In such a case, compliance with RTE provisions is compulsory, officials said.