Centre seeks info on pvt schools given land

Naina Mishra

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Chandigarh, June 11

Centre has directed the Chandigarh Education Department to supply it information about private schools which have got land from the government and are under obligation to provide free education to weaker sections.

During a meeting of the Parliamentary Assessment Board (PAB) held recently to review the performance of the UT by the Ministry of Education, the UT Administration was requested “to ensure that such private schools which are under obligation to provide free education to children of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections are not reimbursed as per Section 12(2) of the RTE Act 2009.”

Further, the Centre has also sought details from the Chandigarh Education Department to provide details of private schools having received land or any other assistance from the UT Administration.

As per the section 12 (2), schools that are already under obligation to provide free education to a specified number of children on account of it having received any land, building, equipment or other facilities, either free of cost or at a concessional rate, are not entitled to reimbursement to the extent of such obligation.

Educational institutions were allotted land by the Estate Officer, Chandigarh, on concessional rates, fixed by the Finance Department in 1996 and under Para 18 notified the provisions of reservation of 15% seats for economically weaker sections. Chandigarh had also issued a clarification in 2016 that the norm of 15% seats to EWS students shall be applicable to all schools who were allotted land by the Chandigarh Administration.

As private schools are required to reserve 15 per cent seats for children belonging to the economically weaker sections under the Land Allotment Scheme of the UT, the department gives reimbursement over and above 15 per cent only out of a total of 25 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections as mandated under the RTE Act section 12 (1) (C). However, some minority schools do not admit students as per the provisions of the UT Land Allotment Scheme.