School admission: Forged income papers flood RTE applications

The office of the District Education Officer (DEO) in Surat is working overtime to scrutinise forms received for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) quota after over 750 of the 8,800 applications received in the last five days turned out to be “forged” documents. The officials are considering a spot verification to ascertain the actual financial status of several applicants.

For the benefit of applicants, Surat DEO had set up 45 collection centres in different zones of the Surat Municipal Corporation 15 days ago, when the process for admissions under RTE began. The RTE applicants could submit their forms at the centres, which were later uploaded on a portal by SMC officials. The last date for form collection is Tuesday.

Sources in DEO said that the department had received over 8,800 application forms for admissions under RTE and the process of verification of the documents had begun. The verification procedures of the forms started on May 3. A special technical staff has been given the task to verify the documents, especially the income proof certificates of applicants, by the Surat district collector.

According to officers, until now, the scrutiny has revealed over 750 forged documents – a number that could increase in the coming days. DEO UN Rathod said, “Each income proof certificate has its special registration number and bar code issued by the mamlatdar. The mamlatdar departments also keep a record of all the income proof certificates issued to the applicants. For cross verification of the income proof documents, their registration number and bar code have been tallied with the records which mamlatdar department posses. We have found irregularity in them.”

Officials say that in many cases, prima facie, the irregularity is due to the applicants falling for promises made by touts who promise to complete the process of the admission for many ignorant applicants for hefty fees. Citing an example of a forged document found, the officer said that a resident of a government housing project under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scheme in Udhna had submitted an RTE form having registration number 2170-2018. In the form, the annual income was mentioned to be Rs 65,000. However, when the registration number and the bar code were matched with the data of mamlatdar office, it was found that the same 2170-2018, was issued to another person and not the applicant who had submitted the proof. The application was eventually rejected.

Rathod said, “During our investigations, we have found that many agents wait near the office of the mamlatdar to lure applicants into their trap. They provide them with forged documents by promising to help in completing the process and securing an admission. We will take strict action against such persons in the coming days as we are identifying them. We are also considering a spot verification and, if required, our staff will also visit the houses of applicants and check their financial status.”

As per the rule, for admissions under RTE, applicants are required to submit income proofs of their parents with the necessary address proof documents and Aadhaar cards, along with caste certificate, if any. Rathod said, “The parents with an annual income below Rs 1.20 lakh in rural areas and Rs 1.50 lakh in urban areas can apply for admissions under RTE.”
News Source (Indian Express)