Class 10 boy seeks Gujarat education minister's help for siblings' admission

The education minister on Wednesday had a unique visitor – a class 10 student approached Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's office seeking his intervention in admitting two of his siblings to school. Vivek, a resident of a chawl in Shahibaug has been running from pillar to post to get his sister and brother admitted to class 1 and class 6 in Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Speaking to the media, he said, "My father is a plumber and cannot afford the high fees of schools. It has been over a month that I have been running around for my siblings' admissions. I also have a letter from the collector which asks the school to admit my siblings but I have not got any surety from the school. This is the reason I had to come to Gandhinagar and this is my second visit. If I don't get any response from here, my siblings will remain uneducated."

When DNA spoke to Chudasama, he said, "We have provisions to give admission through RTE so that students from financially backward families are not deprived of education."

This year, the state government aims to give admissions to 1.10 lakh students as against 85,000 last year. While there are many who are benefitting of the RTE Act, there are some who are still deprived of the same, either due to documentation issues or lack of awareness.