Several parents apologised and, in written documents submitted to the DEO, confessed that they had presented their income as less than what it actually (Express Archives)
Surat District Education Officer (DEO) has instructed principals of six schools in Surat to take legal action against parents who had allegedly manipulated income-proof documents to secure the admission of their children under the Right To Education (RTE) Act 2009.
Acting on the complaint from the schools, teams of Surat DEO along with those set up by the schools personally visited the houses and checked the financial status of the parents. The teams then prepared their report with necessary documents and photographs and handed it over to DEO Bhagirathsinh Parmar.
After reviewing the report and documents such as income proof of parents, DEO Parmar personally heard over 250 parents and found that a number of them were well off with some owning businesses and having the means to travel abroad.
Several parents apologised and, in written documents submitted to the DEO, confessed that they had presented their income as less than what it actually was in the document required to secure admission under RTE.
Sources in the DEO said that these parents owned bungalows, luxurious flats and cars, and had taken bank loans of Rs 35 to 50 lakh. Sources said that the DEO officials also collected the electricity bills from these houses and found them to be relatively high.
In a letter to the schools, the DEO said, “During spot visit and verification of various parents, it was found that there were discrepancies in the income proof documents submitted by the parents. During the hearing, the parents confessed to having more income than shown in the income-proof documents submitted while securing admission. So, (admission of) the mentioned 28 students studying in your school under the RTE Act should be cancelled by the end of the academic year. Along with this, the school principals are told to take legal actions against the parents of such students.”
Talking to The Indian Express, DEO Parmar said, “We have told school authorities to take legal actions against the parents of 68 students out of 100. Process with regard to the remaining 32 students is in progress. We have already instructed school authorities to cancel the admission of 100 students by the end of the present academic year.”