Solaris Public School on Sola Road in Ahmedabad has been fined ₹10,000 after its failure to upload details of students admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act resulted in eligible children missing out on the government’s annual education assistance, according to the District Education Officer (DEO), Ahmedabad West.
The DEO’s office also ordered the school management to immediately complete the portal entries for all eligible RTE students. The school has been directed to deposit the penalty through a government challan within two days, following a show-cause notice and an explanation submitted by the principal.
The action followed a written complaint filed by the parent of one student on the Chief Minister’s public grievance portal. The parent reported that the student had not received the assistance provided under the RTE scheme. The complaint prompted the Ahmedabad West DEO office to investigate the school’s records and portal submissions.
The inquiry found that the school management and principal had not entered the details of RTE students on the government portal. As a result, the students’ names did not appear in the system and no student studying at Solaris Public School received the assistance for the current academic year, the report said.
Under the state government’s RTE assistance programme, eligible students receive ₹3,000 annually for items including uniforms, shoes, socks and educational materials. The amount is transferred directly to the bank account of the student or the parent. The assistance is intended for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged backgrounds who secure admission under the RTE Act.
The failure to upload student information meant that the school-level administrative process became a barrier to the release of a benefit that is designed to reach families directly. In this case, the government’s payment mechanism depended on the accuracy and completeness of entries made by the school on the designated portal.
More than 80,000 students studying under the RTE provision in schools across Ahmedabad’s eastern and western areas have received the assistance during the current year, according to the report. The figure places the Solaris case within a wider city-level administrative system involving thousands of student records, school submissions and bank transfers.
The DEO issued the school a notice seeking an explanation and instructed the principal to appear in person. After considering the response, the authority imposed the ₹10,000 penalty for the first reported instance and ordered immediate corrective action. The school must now upload the details of all eligible students and complete the penalty payment within the prescribed period.
The case highlights the role of school-level data entry in delivering RTE-linked benefits. While the assistance is funded by the state and transferred to families’ accounts, the release of the payment can depend on whether schools correctly submit student information through the government portal. The DEO’s order makes the school responsible for correcting the missing entries and completing the administrative process.
