Govt not keen to implement RTE Act in Punjab
The RTE Act mandates that 25% of seats in private unaided schools be reserved for children from economically weaker sections
Punjab, which was recently ranked among the best-performing states in compliance rate of infrastructure norms in elementary schools, has no plans to implement the provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which mandates 25% of seats for the children from economically weaker sections in private unaided schools.
The state government has been receiving petitions and requests from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social activists for a review of its existing policy to comply with this legal provision. Union minister of education Jayant Chaudhary had also appealed to the governments of Punjab, Kerala, Telangana and West Bengal, in August last year to cooperate and reserve seats for underprivileged children in private schools under the RTE Act. Punjab is among the four states that have not reserved seats in private unaided schools.
School education secretary KK Yadav stated that this matter was discussed thoroughly two-three times and ruled out any rethink on the existing policy for school admissions in elementary classes.
“The government’s focus is on further improving the quality of education and infrastructure in government schools. There is no plan to reserve seats in private schools and then reimburse them. The government would rather spend this money on equipping its schools with the best facilities,” he said.
The RTE Act’s Section 12(1)(c) mandated unaided private schools to admit in class I children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood to the extent of 25% of the strength of that class and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion. State governments are required to reimburse the schools for such children.
However, the Punjab RTE Rules, which were framed by the then government in 2011, provided that children from the economically weaker and disadvantaged categories must first seek admission in government schools and they can approach unaided schools for admission only after getting a no-objection certificate from government schools on the ground of non-availability of seats or other reasons.
Social activist Onkar Nath, a former additional deputy comptroller and auditor general, said that these rules are inconsistent with the provisions of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act and restrictive in nature. “Not a single child from weaker and disadvantaged sections of society in Punjab has been admitted to unaided private schools under the minimum 25% norms since the RTE Act came into effect,” said the retired officer, urging the state government to amend Rule 7(4) of the Punjab RTE Rules, 2011, to remove the prerequisite of seeking admission in government schools before approaching unaided private schools.
Best compliance rate on school infra norms
Punjab has the best compliance rate on infrastructure norms such as additional classrooms, toilets, drinking water, playgrounds, and boundary walls, according to a status report published by the Council for Social Development recently. The report, titled ‘Implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: Where do we stand?’ published by the RTE Cell in CSD, showed the compliance rate in Punjab as the highest among the states and Union Territories at 63.6% while the lowest was 1.3% in Meghalaya. The compliance level at the all-India level is only partial, as there are still three-fourths of the government and private schools that are not fully RTE compliant, it said.