Bengaluru: Is DPI's overambitious proposal to introduce digitalisation is hurting the students from disadvantaged families? Activists working at the ground believe that it does.
DPI's recent move to make Aadhaar mandatory to apply for RTE quota seats is now being criticised, with the activists saying that it will keep needy students away from the scheme.
According to experts, RTE 25% quota seats are distributed among the needy students after considering their neighbourhood schools. But many a time, it is alleged, a few parents produce fake rent agreements to claim seats in elite schools. As a solution to this problem, the state government now wants Aadhaar cards of the children or their parents mandatory.
This decision has sparked the new controversy. Many activists who are working on the ground feel that this decision will keep genuine students out of the quota ambit.
An activist said that as per records, around 40-50 lakh people are yet to register for Aadhaar in the state. "The RTE quota was introduced to help people from disadvantaged families who are deprived of any facilities. But it is now being used to kill the government schools. It is the migrants and nomadic families who need seats under the quota. But they don't have any records to prove their address," she explained.
Meanwhile, many in the DPI feel that in the name of digitisation, the interest of the poor is being sacrificed. "Everyone wants hi-tech touch. DPI which failed the RTE all these years is now playing with the future of students. Senior officials are not ready to listen to those who are serving the department passionately," said an officer.
