Smooth execution of RTE Act big task for Edu Dept

The smooth implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has turned out to be a mammoth task for the Education Department.

The RTE Act provides admission to the students belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in private recognised schools in the state. Under the RTE, 25 per cent seats are reserved in the first or entry-level classes for the children from these categories.

While the new academic session started in April, the children who wanted admissions under the RTE Act had to wait till July for the completion of the admission process. The delay on the part of the department in obtaining data related to seats, and on part of the private schools in declaring the seats led to the series of objections and repeated extension of deadlines for admissions and updation of admission tracking portal.

This year, as many as 10,744 recognised private schools were told to declare their seats under the RTE but despite repeated warnings a number of schools failed to declare their seats. Earlier this month, in a major crackdown, the Directorate Of Elementary Education had issued directions to impose fines ranging Rs 30,000 to Rs 70,000 depending on the fees of the school, issue show-cause notices and take appropriate action for not declaring seats under the RTE.

As per the department, directions were issued to the DEEOs to take action against 1,680 schools that had not declared their seats in the state, and another 1,128 schools that were rejected by DEEOs on recognition and other grounds. The MIS (management information system) portal of these schools were already blocked by the department, triggering resentment among the private schools associations.

Saurabh Kapoor, spokesman for the Haryana Progressive School’s Conference, said “The Education Department is ready to take action against the private schools, but it is not ready to clear the arears. The department hasn’t cleared the dues for teaching students under the RTE in the last three years and yet the schools have been teaching the students. The department has set a wrong trend by blocking the MIS portal that failed to declare their seats due to various issues, including the genuine problems and technical issues.”

“The department should clear the dues in time and resolve the issues of the private schools too. Reimbursement for teaching the students belonging to the EWS category under Rule 134A of the Haryana School Education Rules was the prime reason behind the dispute between the government and private schools. In 2022, the rule 134-A was omitted and the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act was implemented, but the issue of reimbursement is still there. We are afraid that if the situation is not improved, the RTE may also face a similar fate like Rule 134-A”, he added.

Kulbhushan Sharma, president of the National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA) said the department had set a wrong trend to create pressure on the schools while the department was late on its part in starting the admission process, and it lacked clarity on various levels. The schools are ready to give admissions if the dues are cleared in time and as per the RTE Act. The schools don’t have much confidence in the department as there is no accountability and transparency. Accountability of the officers concerned must be fixed if the dues are not cleared and the admission process is not started in time.

“The blocking of MIS portal created obstacles in the process of admission and issuing school leaving certificates of other students. The admissions under the RTE will be given to students as per the rules but the government should also clear the pending dues first. We will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court against such decisions”, he added.

Meanwhile, the directorate on Wednesday have asked the schools to furnish information on whether they had declared the mandated 25 per cent EWS seats for the current academic session. In cases where the seats have not been declared, the schools must indicate the reason—whether a proposal was submitted and subsequently rejected by the DEEO, or if no declaration was made at all. The information has been sought for compilation of data for opening the MIS portal of private schools.

Ambala District Education Officer Sudhir Kalra, who earlier held the charge of the DEEO Ambala, said “Following the directions received from the headquarters, opportunity of personal hearings was given to each school and appropriate action is being taken. Some cases have been forwarded to the headquarters’ level for the decision and further action. Affidavits have also been taken from the schools that they will not repeat such lapse in future. The department has taken a strict note of the situation and it was ensured that all eligible students get admissions in the schools.”