COIMBATORE: A tussle between the Centre and the State has affected implementation of a key feature of the Right To Education Act (RTE), leaving those it aimed to empower — children from economically weaker sections — at the mercy of private schools. Delays in release of fee reimbursement from the Centre have forced Tamil Nadu to pick up the tab — at its own pace — allowing private schools to collect fees from disadvantaged students admitted under RTE to meet operational costs.
What’s the hold-up?
The Centre and State share RTE fee costs in a 60:40 ratio. For TN to get its share of funds, it must reimburse schools and send a proposal to the Centre asking for it to pay its share.
However, a recent response from the Ministry of Human Resource Development to a query in Parliament revealed the Centre has not paid its full share from 2017-18, forcing TN to spend from its Budget.
MHRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the reason the State’s proposals had not been approved was that TN had not fully reimbursed the RTE amount due to private schools. According to his reply, TN sent a proposal for Rs 125 crore for 2017-18, which was not approved on these grounds. For 2018-19, TN asked for Rs 99 crore but the Centre released only Rs 27.6 crores, on the ground that not all schools had been reimbursed. This reason was given for the Centre releasing Rs 70.78 crore for 2019-20 although the State sought Rs 179.52 crores.
TN rejected the Centre’s claims and said it had settled dues with schools. Schools agreed payment had been received till 2017-2018 but said they were still awaiting reimbursement for 2018-19. Highly placed sources in the school education department said TN had made multiple futile representations to the Centre asking for the funds to be released.
Meanwhile, officials said they were processing RTE claims for 2018-19. Director of Matriculation Schools, A Karuppasamy, said another reason for the delay was the time taken to visit schools and verify RTE records.
Between the wrangling and the bureaucracy, it is the children who suffer as schools make them pay instead.
‘Daughter sent home’
Schools have taken to asking students to pay the fees with an assurance that they will be repaid once the government reimburses them.
One Class 5 student, admitted under RTE, said his parents had to pay the tuition fees so he could continue his studies. The parents had to take the matter up with the Education Department to get the money back.
One parent in Tirupur district said she was forced to pay Rs 8,000 to a private school to let her ward complete UKG. “There are many parents who pay the school fees,” she said.
Activists allege that schools adopt coercive methods to make parents pay. R Muthukumarasamy, an activist from Pollachi, claimed some schools obtained birth certificates of RTE students and kept them to make their parents pay the fees.
N Mahalakshmi of Periyanaicken Palayam said her daughter, admitted under the RTE, was sent home from the private school at the beginning of the academic year for not paying fees.
“Only after I paid Rs 6400 did the school allow my daughter to continue her education," she said. After a few more experiences like this Mahalakshmi decided to admit her daughter to a government school.
Educationist Prince Gajendra Babu said such cases must be brought to light to ensure a proper solution.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam youth wing secretary V Eswaran slammed the delays, charging that they gave schools the opportunity to demand fees from the students. Loopholes such as this prevented the RTE Act from achieving its purpose, he said.
‘No other way to pay salaries’
Private schools say that they have no other option to pay their bills.
“The amount due for reimbursement has been increasing with each year. Some schools might charge RTE students so as to meet teaching expenses. But, the amount is refundable once the government reimburses it,” said ATB Bose, general secretary of Association of Management of Private Schools of TN.
TN Private Schools Association president R Visalakshi complained that schools were struggling to pay salaries because of the delay. She pointed out that private schools were required to provide admissions under the RTE even if they had financial tangles.
