The Karnataka Federation of Independent Schools Managements (KFISM) has decided not to start the process of filling seats under the Right to Education (RTE) Act if the state government fails to release the pending reimbursement for seats provided in the previous year.
After meeting Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar, the KFISM held a press conference here on Friday where the forum’s president LR Shivarame Gowda said, “The minister has promised to release the dues in the next three days. If he fails to keep his promise, we will not admit students under the RTE quota.” According to the calendar of events released by the Department of Public Instruction, the process of admission should start from January 6. “If we don’t get the reimbursement, we will not start the admission process for 25 per cent of the seats reserved under the RTE quota. Keeping that quota unfilled we will begin the process for other seats and start the academic year,” said Gowda.
The schools affiliated to central and international syllabi (CBSE, ICSE and IGCSE) come under the forum. “The deadline to release the amount was September 30. The pending reimbursement is around `65 crore. We are not against the RTE Act but government should look into our problems too,” he said.
According to him, they have cooperated with the state in implementing the RTE effectively. “But the authorities are least bothered about our problems. The Commissioner for Public Instruction is not aware about the Act and the role of private schools,” said Gowda.
There are over 16,000 private schools in the state (except minority institutions), including CBSE and ICSE ones. Major schools are in cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Shimoga and Hubli-Dharwad. Of these schools, 600 are affiliated to CBSE, ICSE and IGCSE.
The government had fixed a reimbursement of `11,800 per child. “In 2012-13, the government released half of the reimbursement and in 2013-14 (current year) it has not released anything,” he said. According the forum, this year around 70,000 seats in private schools were given under the RTE Act. There is a pending amount for 40,000 seats of 2012-13.