Aurangabad: Around 80% of the applications — over 9,500 of the 11,905 requests — received across Aurangabad district under the Right to Education (RTE) Act for the financial year 2021-22 correspond only to seven schools.

Now sensing high chances of parents resorting to malpractices to seek admission for their wards in top schools, educational activists have sought an inquiry into such applications.

“The concept of neighbourhood school is followed under the RTE Act that defines the limits of such schools to be within one-kilometer radius from the residence of the beneficiary. With only handful of schools being flooded with admission pleas, this concept has definitely gone for a toss,” educational activist Prashant Sathe said.

As reported by TOI in recent past, one of the modus-operandi for bogus applications involves intentional spelling errors in name,middle name or surname of the beneficiaries that can be later rectified. A section of parents were also seen producing bogus address proofs to claim admission in top schools.

“The process of admissions under RTE Act is plagued with many unethical practices over a period of last few years. The process needs stringent scrutiny in order to protect the interests of genuine applicants,” he said.

As per official data, a total of 603 schools from Aurangabad district registered for admissions under the RTE Act for the academic year 2021-22 — a cumulative intake capacity of 3,625 seats under 25%reserved quota.

When contacted, S P Jaiswal, education officer with Aurangabad zilla parishad, said all the applications for admissions under the RTE Act would undergo stringent scrutiny.