JOIN USThe Education Department may reserve 7.5 per cent of the seats for Scheduled Castes and 1.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribes, out of the 25 per cent quota for underprivileged children in private schools, under the Right to Education Act.
The remaining 16 per cent will have to be accommodated by the schools, by drawing lots. Presently, reservation for SCs is 15 per cent, while it is 3 per cent for STs in the State.
The department has proposed to the government that reservation for these should be halved under RTE, which comes to 9 per cent.
It is proposed that the remaining 16 per cent of the children - coming under categories like children with special needs, orphans, migrants, OBCs and HIV affected - be accommodated by the schools by picking lottery. Schools will be monitored by the Block Education Officers, during this exercise, according to officials sources. Three select groups will be constituted to look into the reservation aspect.
It is learnt that over 15 government orders pertaining to various aspects were discussed at Monday’s State Cabinet meeting. The department is also setting up an RTE cell, which will ensure implementation of the Act. While a retired Deputy Director of Public Instruction has already been roped in, the department will recruit consultants to ensure effective implementation of the Act.
Senior officials in the department said that circulars will be issued to all the schools coming under RTE in a couple of days, asking them to comply with the Act.
Parents of the remaining 75 per cent children in the schools coming under RTE will be asked to bear the expenses borne by the school management to accommodate 25 per cent of the students from weaker sections. This is in addition to the Rs 11,008 to be reimbursed by the government for each student.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri will submit a report to the State Cabinet on how the 25 per cent of seats reserved under RTE should be split between SC/ST students and children from economically backward sections.
Schools still unhappy
The CBSE and ICSE school management associations met Kageri on Monday.
The Karnataka Federation of Independent School Managements, consisting of 152 ICSE schools and 132 CBSE schools in the State, met the minister to impress upon him the practical difficulties in implementing the 25 per cent reservation this year.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Federation chairman L R Shivarame Gowda said the members told the minister that it would not be possible to reserve 25 per cent seats in these schools as the admission process was completed.
However, the minister was stern that the Act should be implemented from the following academic year, said Shivarame Gowda.
Following this, the Federation has decided to provide reservation in schools which still have a few vacant seats.
Shivarame Gowda said out of the 284 schools under the Federation, about 30 per cent of them will be able to give a few seats to students from the weaker sections.
Whether these schools can give the full 25 per cent reservation needs to be analysed, Shivarame Gowda said.