Application Submission

From 2014-2016, we helped families fill out the paper-based, English RTE applications. In these years, parents did not even know where to get them, as schools did not distribute them and they didn't know which government offices did. In filling out these forms, we made sure the school couldn't reject the families over silly reasons like checking the wrong box. We also helped parents with submitting the form to the school itself, which often proved a difficult endeavor: on their own, parents were rarely allowed on campus. Parents were also told a number of falsehoods by school administrators, including that admissions were over and their child wasn't eligible. Part of our application work, then, was convincing the schools to accept the forms. From 2017 to present, the Tamil Nadu government rolled out an online application process. This has greatly helped our work, as we no longer had to convince schools to accept applications. It has also made it easier on the parents, who no longer had to endure the treatment of hostile schools. 

With the advent of the online system, we now take the forms of the families and apply online for them--we do this for a few reasons. First, the poorest families do not know how to use a computer. Secondly, cyber centers charge money to use their premises, and to avail of their skills like uploading documents to the system. Our services have--and always will be--free of charge. We never accept money from families. Third, we know the RTE rules inside and out, and can therefore help give families the best possible chance with eligibility. When parents have applied online on their own and have given us their confirmation slips, we noticed a number of problems with their application. For instance, a family whose address I recognized as living a mere 1/2 kilometer away from the school had put they lived 2 km from the school. Given that all families must live within 1 km of the school to be considered eligible, they had accidentally disqualified themselves. In other cases, families have tried using gas books for address proof and income certificate receipts (rather than the actual certificate). By us taking their forms and applying for them, we can make sure they are given every possible chance to gain admissions. 

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Every year, we set up a table at a neighborhood's landmark. In Chetpet, it is in the middle of Dhobikana, the laundry center. In Shastiri Nagar, it's in front of their balwadi, and for Aynavaram it is the ICF housing board's temple located near their A Block. For two hours (usually it extends 3 to 4 hours) we accept forms of the families. Daily thereafter, we remind any families to bring remaining forms that they have not yet given, such as an income or community certificate. At each location, we offer parents 4 days to bring us these forms--they will find us sitting there at a table in the same location.