Gujarat: Private schools snub EWS applicants, send parents on wild goose chase

Repeated instructions and warnings by the State Education Department to private schools to follow the rulebook have also been allegedly brushed aside by the latter.

Parents whom The Federal spoke with say several schools demand additional documents like income proofs from them for admission under the RTE Act, while many parents in Ahmedabad complained of being returned or misguided by private school authorities.

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DEO’s strict directive

Rohit Chaudhary, the District Admission Officer (DEO), said that after receiving complaints from parents, he sent a directive to all private schools, instructing them not to seek any documents other than those mandated under the RTE Act for admission.

“School managements are not to ask for any document other than those mandated under the RTE Act during the admission of children. Action will be taken against any school found violating the same,” read the notification issued by the DEO.

“Despite instructions, some schools have asked for additional income proofs, leading to harassment of parents. We have asked all schools to confirm the admission process. Any seat left vacant in any school will be re-allotted, and school management will be responsible for the delay in admission of the children and the hassle caused to parents,” said Chaudhary.

In February this year, too, the Education Department had issued a notification, warning schools of strict action if they refused to admit any student who had been allotted seats through the lottery system.

Parents run from pillar to post

The education department’s notice has been of little help to parents from the EWS background who are trying to admit their children to private schools.

Many parents alleged that the managements of the schools they approached ridiculed them and refused to give them admission forms. Several other parents said many schools were hostile towards them, and school authorities harassed them by seeking endless documentation.

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“I have been struggling for the past few months to get my son admitted to Class 4 in Ahmedabad. My son’s name appeared on the list in the first round of the admission process. I knew I needed an income certificate for the process, so I got one from the village panchayat office in Detroj,” said Raghavji Solanki, a resident of Detroj village in Ahmedabad district who works as a manual scavenger.

“But the school saw the document and said that it won’t work and asked for another added income proof. Since then, I have been running between government offices in Ahmedabad city, trying to figure out who will give me added income proof. I have no help here. The school refused to admit my son in January during the first phase of the admission process. Now it is refusing to admit him in the second phase of admission as well,” adds a distressed Solanki.

“I am uneducated and have to work as a manual scavenger. But I wanted my son to study and leave this place for a better future. I don’t want the same fate for my son,” Solanki says.

‘I was told my son will be ridiculed’

Many parents say, when approached, school managements use psychological blackmail and tell them that their children won’t be able to adjust with the more affluent peers and will be subjected to ridicule.

“The management of an Ahmedabad school discouraged me from admitting my child. They told me my son won’t be able to adjust with the other children. When I insisted, they told me that the school management won’t be responsible if in the future my son is ridiculed by other students from different financial backgrounds,” Rashmiben Rathod, an Anganwadi worker, told The Federal.

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Vicious rigmarole

In another case, Jahnviben, a single mother from Surat, has been running from pillar to post for her daughter’s admission under the RTE quota.

“The school said they either require a divorce certificate or a death certificate of the husband for the admission process. I told them my divorce has just been finalised after a long legal process of five years, and I am yet to get the certificate. But I have produced all other required documents, including the birth certificate that mentions the father’s name. Yet they are refusing to admit my daughter,” shares Jahnviben, who works as a household maid in Surat city.

“I hoped that I would be able to ensure a good education for my daughter, but it seems difficult now with my income,” rues Jahnvi, who had been a victim of domestic violence.

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Surge in applications

The state education department had notified 93,860 seats across 9,741 private schools under the RTE quota. Of the 93,860 seats, 86274 got filled across Gujarat by the end of the first round of admissions in April 2025. However, 13,761 applications were rejected, and another 49,470 were cancelled primarily due to issues with documents.

A second round of admission process for the remaining seats was initiated on May 16 this year.

This year, more than 2.5 lakh applications were submitted under the RTE admission process; the number was just 40,000 applications last year. The number saw a surge mostly due to the state government’s decision to revise the income limit from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh per annum for beneficiaries in both rural and urban sectors, allowing lower-middle-class families to also apply for the quota.

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“The move of the government has added more pressure on the families who belong to the EWS group. With raised income limit this year, acutely marginalised families are having to compete with lower-middle-class families, especially in urban areas, for the same number of seats. Unlike lower middle-class families, most of the marginalised people are uneducated and need time and help to understand the admission process and to get documents. The process is not fair to these people,” says Janisar Sheikh, an RTE activist from Anand district.