A probe has been initiated against two private schools in Ahmedabad following allegations that students admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act were being “deliberately detained”, officials said on Thursday.
The Ahmedabad District Education Officer (DEO) on Wednesday directed the concerned Education Inspector to investigate Tripada English School in Ghatlodiya and Zydus School in Vejalpur. The action comes after the DEO reportedly received complaints from a couple of parents whose children were enrolled under the RTE Act’s 25 per cent reservation quota in private schools.A few parents had reached out to the office and complained that these (private) schools have deliberately detained their wards.”
As per the complaints received, students of Class 5 and 8 have been allegedly detained as they were unable to clear their final exams. According to the DEO’s directive, the Education Inspector has been asked to personally visit these two schools and investigate the answer sheets of the students admitted under the RTA.
According to Deo order”Conduct a personal inquiry into how many students of Class 5 and 8 have been declared ‘failed’ and if the school has conducted a re-exam of these students or not. Also, in your presence… let the parents inspect the answer sheets and submit the report to this office”.
Sources revealed that there could be more than three to four cases in each school as the “couple of parents who have complained about it have alleged that there are similar cases in these schools”.
According to the RTE Act, no student has to be detained till Class 8. Though the central government abolished the no-detention policy for Class 5 and 8 in December 2024, the Gujarat government had already withdrawn it in 2023-24.
According to the revised norms, students scoring below 35 marks in Classes 5 and 8 may be held back. However, those who fail will be given a second opportunity to appear for a re-examination within two months. Students who are unable to clear the re-test will then face detention.