VIJAYAWADA: Though Section 12 of the Right to Education Act provides for free and compulsory education for poor and disadvantaged children in private unaided schools through the allotment of 25 per cent seats, there has been no attempt either by the State government or the private schools to implement it. Post bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, not a single school has been reviewed or served with notices for violation of the Act. On Tuesday, the High Court had issued notices to both AP and Telangana governments to look at the issue and submit their versions of implementation of RTE in two weeks.
The court issued the notices after a PIL was filed in the Hyderabad High Court seeking implementation of 25 per cent quota for free education on June 25. On Tuesday, the petition was heard and the High Hourt directed both AP and TS governments to file their version regarding the implementation of RTE in private schools.
Petitioner T Yogesh, a law student from Visakhapatnam district, submitted that at least 25 per cent reservation should be provided for children belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) in all the un-aided schools as per the provisions under the RTE Act 2009.
Speaking to Express, State HRD Minister Ganta Srinivas Rao said, “We are following the case and the department officials are filing the reply. We are trying our best to implement section 12 of the RTE act.” Sources said that implementation of RTE Act would result in shedding crores of rupees to the private schools and the department has no funds to do that. “Though we wanted to implement it across the State, we couldn’t do that due to the financial crisis. Based on our financial permits, instead of 25 per cent, we would like to go with 15 per ent now. If the High court orders to implement 25 percent, then we have to do it,” he said.
Across the State, there are 16,273 Private schools with over 35 lakh students studying in them. The State government has to reimburse the amount to private schools, as per the rate of per child expenditure that occurs in government schools. However, neither the private schools nor the State government is showing any interest in taking up this initiative. No private school is allotting the free category seats to poor students and in fact, are filling them up with same method of admission as the rest 75 percent. In Krishna district around 1,547 private schools are present and not even a single school is following the RTE Act and even a single seat isn’t allotted by any school.
When the State education department is discussing and reviewing each and every issue of schools, both private and government schools, what made them stay away from implementing the section 12 of RTE Act?
T Srinivas, Superintendent of Private schools, Department of School education said, “Due to the lack of required budget, we are unable to allocate funds for the reimbursement of 25 percent seats. Even Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu wants to review, but due to the lack of funds we are unable to implement it. As of now all aided schools are being run free of cost by the government but in private schools it is not being implemented. Soon, we might bring it back on track.”
GV Subbarao, chairman of a private school, said that they are being generous with students from poor background and give them a fee concession. “It is very pathetic to see the failure of a such a powerful Act. The State government has ruined it completely. They have destroyed the government schools with a lack of teachers. All they want is do as much favour as possible to private schools,” said V Balasubramanyam, MLC.
K Mavullamma, parent of a student studying in Government Municipal High School in Vijayawada, said, “I am interested to send my only child to private school. But, being a single mother, I cannot afford the fees.”