VIJAYAWADA: The officials of the School Education Department may face action for their alleged lapses in implementing 25 per cent reservation for the poor in private schools as per the Right to Education Act.
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has recently expressed its displeasure with the State government for not implementing its orders to allocate 25 per cent free seats in private educational institutions to children belonging to economically backward sections.
Issuing an ultimatum to the government officials, the court had said, “Will you ensure poor children get seats in private schools or shall we allot seats to you (officials) in prison?” The court had directed officials to submit a report by Wednesday on the actions taken for the implementation of the RTE Act.
In January, the court issued orders to ensure the allocation of 25 per cent of seats in private schools for free admission as per the Right to Education Act (RTE), from the current academic year.
According to the Standard Operating Procedure, the department has to advertise the new policy, the government should issue the scheduled notification two months before the commencement of the academic year and set up a centralised admission portal before introducing the 25 per cent quota in private and corporate schools across the State. the officials and the answer were to be filed by Wednesday.
Lawyer Thandava Yogesh, in his contempt of court petition, alleged that the government did not implement the SoP of RTE Section 12 (1)C. The High Court has taken a serious view of the negligence of officials in implementing quota for poor students in private schools, he said.
“The government in collusion with private schools has been playing around and misleading us for the last 10 years,” Yogesh said, adding that the public should be cautious and ensure proper implementation of the Act.
MV Ramachandra Reddy, State president of the Andhra Pradesh Private Unaided Management Association (APPUSMA), stated that they were ready to follow the directions of the High court as well as the government. He, however, appealed to the government to implement the reservation from the next academic year as the current academic year has already commenced.
Commissioner of School Education S Suresh Kumar stated that they will explain to the High Court the developments.