Recognition will be withdrawn if RTE seats not declared, pvt schools warned

As a large number of recognised private schools in the state have failed to declare their seats under the RTE Act, the Education Department has warned the schools of withdrawing their recognition and blocking their MIS accounts and UDISE codes if the seats are not declared by May 26.

Under the RTE, 25 per cent seats are reserved in the first or entry-level classes in recognised private schools for children from economically weaker section (EWS) and disadvantaged groups.

Earlier, after repeated extensions, May 23 was the last date for seat declaration. However, 82 per cent schools submitted their data till May 24.

As per the information available, of 10,744 schools, 8,891 schools have submitted their final data. As many as 1,853 schools haven't submitted their data as on May 24 despite repeated warnings.

As per the list, of 1,853 schools, as many as 160 schools are from Faridabad, followed by 155 from Gurugram, 148 from Hisar, 130 from Karnal, 112 from Sonepat, 111 from Panipat and 99 from Mahendragarh.

An official in the Education Department said that the last date has been further extended till May 26 and if the seats are not declared, the schools would be put in the category of unrecognised schools, and their MIS accounts and UDISE codes will be blocked.

Saurabh Kapoor, spokesman, Haryana Progressive Schools’ Conference, said, “There were issues related to the recognition letter of a number of schools and also issues related to minority schools due to which the schools were not able to submit their final data. We had a meeting with the officials of the Education Department following which another opportunity has been given and the date has been extended. The issues have been resolved and we are hopeful that the remaining schools will also submit their data soon.”

Meanwhile, Ambala District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO) Sudhir Kalra said, “The department has released a list of schools across the state that have not submitted their data despite repeated directions. Of 356 total schools in Ambala, 272 have submitted their data. 84 schools are yet to submit their data. The schools have been advised to follow the directions from the directorate. Otherwise, the department will be forced to initiate action against these schools. After the data is compiled, the verification of the data will be done at the directorate level and the admission of eligible children will be ensured in private recognised schools.”