Budget allocates 1 crore as reimbursement to private schools for students from EWS under RTE Act

Updated on: Saturday, March 02, 2013

The budget allocating just Rs 1 crore as reimbursement to private schools for teaching 25% students from economically-weaker section under RTE has left the private schools apprehensive of admitting EWS students into nursery classes for the coming session. Also, UT education department is still to decide when to reimburse the pending amount to schools.

This year, the situation of RTE Act seems to have worsened in the city following confusion after Delhi high court passed the judgment stating that children below the age of six do not come under RTE.

On one hand, UT education department has been repeatedly asking schools to send details of vacant RTE seats and on the other, schools have been asking for clarity over what RTE seats are and which schools have to implement it and when would they get the reimbursement amount.

The education department had asked nearly 70 private schools to send details of vacant EWS seats by February 15, however, only around 30 replied. "There are zero seats until the education department tells us when they will be paying the reimbursement amount. It's the RTE seats under which education is free and the state government pays for it and in this case, the schools are free to charge a nominal fee from the students," said H S Mamik, president of independent schools association.

"There are nearly 450 children for which the department has to pay for almost three years. Even if they pay Rs 1,000 per child, the total will exceed Rs 1 crore". The department officials had asked private schools to wait till April 15 before converting the seats. The matter of reimbursement has been a major cause of tussle between private schools and UT education department.

Budget allocates 1 crore as reimbursement to private schools for students from EWS under RTE Act

More Education news