PATNA: District magistrate Kumar Ravi on Sunday warned the city-based private schools to either follow the norms of Right to Education ( RTE ) Act regarding giving admission to underprivileged children or face the consequences.Addressing the heads of private schools and education officials at a meeting here, The Patna DM asked the schools to reserve 25% seats for children belonging to poor sections of society under the RTE Act 2009 and issue them admission forms for LKG for the session 2018-19.The district administration has set the deadline for the submission of admission forms at entry level. "The schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for India School Certificate Examination (CISCE) would take the admission forms till April 16. The selection of candidates will be through lucky draw system, which is scheduled for April 23, under the vigilance of education officials," the DM said."According to the official records, only 122 out of 389 schools in Patna are following the RTE norms and only 1,482 underprivileged children got admission in LKG in 2017-18," Ravi said.The district administration would also rope in local non-government organizations (NGOs) working in the field of education to inform the underprivileged families about the ongoing admission process in schools. "The NGOs and education department officials will also help in admission process, from informing to filling up forms. After taking admissions, schools will also ensure the counselling session of these kids," the DM said.In the wake of recent bus accidents in Bihar, the DM asked the schools to do physical verification of bus drivers and ensure safety measures like speed governor, GPS system in school buses and important contact number on school vehicles. He also discussed some other issues such as updating school websites, installation of CCTV cameras on school campuses, delivering important information to guardians through SMSs, first aid facilities, preparedness of disaster management, parking space at schools, number of vehicles owned by the schools or outsourced from transporters.The meeting was attended by the officials of 104 private schools, education officials and other departments concerned.

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