The admissions of around 308 students in the city’s schools under the RTE are likely to be invalidated due to revelations that their parents submitted fraudulent income information.
This issue came to light when four some schools in the city, namely Zebar School, Anand Niketan School, Udgam School, and Global Indian International School, all reported instances of parents providing false income details for these students.
The Ahmedabad City District Education Officer has initiated an investigation into the matter. These students had obtained admissions under the Right to Education Act, with their parents declaring annual incomes below the specified limits of Rs1.8 lakh or Rs1.50 lakh. However, a cross-verification of their income tax returns with their PAN cards revealed that their actual income fell within the range of Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh.
The DEO is preparing to conduct hearings involving the parents implicated in this scandal, with proceedings scheduled to occur before the upcoming Diwali vacation.
If found guilty, the government is expected to take stringent action against both the parents responsible for the misleading documentation and the students who gained admission under RTE based on false information.
While the affected students will be allowed to complete their ongoing academic year, their admissions will be revoked for the following academic year.