JOIN USThe State Cabinet on Thursday approved the rules under the Right to Education (RTE) Act which will make it mandatory for private unaided schools to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for poor students from the academic year 2012-13.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law Minister S Suresh Kumar said the Act will come into effect shortly from the date of issuing the gazette notification.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Visveshvara Hegde Kageri said the rules will be implemented from the forthcoming academic year and private educational institutions cannot give any excuses.
When told about the completion of admission process for the next academic year at private schools, he said: “Schools should go by the calendar of events prescribed by the government for beginning admissions. They can’t give any excuse.” As per the State government’s order, schools have to issue applications for admission from April 20 and the first list has to be published on May 6.
Primary and Secondary Education department Secretary G Kumar Naik said the department will soon bring out a plan for implementing the 25 per cent reservation and school managements will be directed to follow it within a stipulated time. The government has also decided to bear the cost of admission for the poor students in private unaided schools by reimbursing the tuition fees to the respective schools. The annual burden on the State for reimbursing the tuition fee is estimated to be about Rs 10 crore, he added.
The government had refrained from implementing the RTE Act as it had sought certain clarifications from the Centre on its financial implications. But the Union Finance Minister in the budget had clarified the funding pattern for implementing the RTE. With the Supreme Court upholding the Constitutional validity of the Act on Thursday, the State government approved the rules and implemented the Act.
The rules framed by the State government are more or less on the lines of the model rules circulated by the Centre. The State has agreed to share the cost of implementing the Act at 65:35 ratio.
It is estimated to cost about Rs 1,700 crore to implement the Act, including upgradation of schools to RTE Act standards and improving the pupil-teacher ratio.
Helpline
The department has released toll free numbers for each DDPI office. Any parent who has a complaint against the admission process in schools, can call the department on this number.
A comprehensive list of toll free numbers for each DDPI office can be found on the Department of Public Instruction website www.schooleducation.kar.nic.in. Toll free numbers for Bangalore are: Bangalore North -180042511002, Bangalore Rural 180042511004, Bangalore South - 180042511005.