Private schools have set a January 15 deadline for the government to hold talks and resolve ambiguities involved in the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act for the year 2013-14.
The Karnataka Private Schools Joint Action Committee (KAPJAC), which represents over 16,000 private schools in the state, held its executive committee meeting here on Wednesday.
“Private schools are not against RTE, but the government is. We will wait till January 15. If nothing happens, we will resort to protests. Closing of schools will be one of our options,” said KAPJAC chairman L R Shivarame Gowda.
He said that the KAPJAC’s meeting with Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri in November had resulted in assurances that have failed to see the light of day.
“The constitution of a state-level advisory committee for implementation of RTE was to be done in 10 days. Nothing has happened,” he said.
The demands, include redefining neighbourhood schools from the municipal ward-based system, bringing down the annual income limit for RTE parents from `3.5 lakh to benefit BPL cardholders, fast reimbursement of RTE fees, preventing ‘third party’ interference in the admission process, appointment of a nodal officer for liaison between schools and the government to collect information.
With the first instalment of the RTE fee reimbursement due to be paid, Gowda ruled out any hike in fees.
“There will be no hike in fees as a result of the implementation of RTE. We will, however, have routine hikes that are common every year.”Despite repeated attempts, Kageri was unavailable for comment.
