The Right to Education (RTE) Act provides every child the fundamental right to receive quality education. But the portals of non-aided schools and schools run by minority communities (Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Parsi (Zoroastrian) and Jain) have been closed by the Education Department, which is causing serious hindrances in the admission of children.

Kulbhushan Sharma says that due to the closure of these portals, the process of admission, transfer and issuance of School Leaving Certificate (SLC) of students is being disrupted, due to which not only children are being deprived of admission in the desired school, but students and parents are facing huge difficulties. Apart from this, minority schools do not come under the mandatory provisions of RTE, yet keeping their portal closed by the department is not only unfair but also playing with the future of the children.

The Federation said that Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act 2009 is not binding on minority schools, which has been clarified by Article 30(1) of the Constitution and Supreme Court judgments. However, the Department has kept the portals closed because these schools have not given admissions under 12(1)(C), which is contradictory to the Supreme Court order and the Right to Education Act.

The Federation has informed the Education Department about this serious issue through email and written letter and has demanded to open the portal immediately so that the admission process can be completed on time and educational loss of children can be prevented. The Federation has appealed to the Department to take a quick decision keeping in mind the educational future of the students.