Private schools await dues for RTE admissions

While it has been six years since the government started providing free and compulsory education to children from economically and socially weaker sections under the Right to Education Act, many private schools are in a dilemma as they have not received any reimbursement from the state government for admitting students under the 25 per cent quota as per the RTE Act.

While the first phase of lottery for admissions to seats reserved for the 25 per cent quota for the 2018-19 academic session was held recently in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, many schools allege that their reimbursement dues from previous years run to lakhs of rupees.

Recently, private educational institutions filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court’s extended bench at Aurangabad, saying the government has not paid them reimbursement dues from the past five years. According to private schools associations, the government apathy has been putting financial burden on them. 

In the first phase of lottery conducted in Mumbai on March 13, the total number of application received from parents for online admission process were 10,628. In the 347 schools registered, 1,866 pre-primary seats and 6,508 class I seats were up for grabs under the RTE Act. Raj Aloni, principal, Ramsheth Thakur Public School, Kharghar, said, “We give admissions under the RTE Act right from nursery. Our first RTE nursery batch has entered class III, and we are still waiting for reimbursements up to Rs 26,85,000 from the government.”

Bharat Malik, convenor, Federation of Schools Association of Maharashtra, said, “Many schools have just received 10 to 15 per cent of reimbursements from the government. But the government has not reimbursed schools for students who were admitted in the entry level and have now reached class II and III.”

Rajendra Singh, Secretary, Independent English School Association of Maharashtra, said, “In 2015, the state government revised the data of schools for admissions under the 25 per cent quote, without seeking the consent of schools, leading to the chaos today. Schools were clear they will not admit students until the pending reimbursements are not paid, and some of our member schools did not register this year for online RTE admission process. A lot of schools have not received a single penny. The Bombay High Court has ordered the government not to take cohesive action against schools till the next hearing, which is on March 28.”

According to Mahesh Palkar,  BMC education officer: “The government has disbursed reimbursements of Rs 2 crore for the 2015-16 academic year and will soon send the dues for academic year 2016-17 to the education department. Reimbursements for 2015-16 need to be disbursed to schools. No school will deny admission to children seeking seats under the 25 per cent RTE quota.”