NGOs demand de-recognition of schools for RTE Act non-compliance

A group of NGOs in the city have formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to ensure the effective implementation of Right to Education (RTE) Act. The NGOs comprising COVA, DBSU, Divya Disha, Mahita, MSI, MVF, People’s Alliance for Child Rights, Montfort Social Institute and UFERWAS will take up a public awareness campaign to enable Below Poverty Line (BPL) families apply for free admissions to private schools.

The RTE Act states that 25 per cent of admissions in all non- minority private schools across the country will be given free of cost to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and State Governments will compensate private schools with an annual fee. “If any are denied admissions, we will approach the government and the court for redress,” stated a release by the NGOs.

“Many states have implemented the free admission rule to some extent except in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The information compiled from media articles, websites and other sources state that 1.75 lakh seats across the two Telugu states should be reserved for the weaker sections of the community but none of the seats have been filled up in the previous two academic years,” the release added.

A writ petition was filed by these NGOs at the Hyderabad High Court in March to implement the RTE Act. In response, the Director of School Education, Telangana State, issued orders to the Regional Joint Director, School Education, Hyderabad and Warangal, to act accordingly for the academic year 2015-16.

The NGOs have demanded that the private schools, including those offering the CBSE and ICSE syllabi, should reserve seats and submit a compliance report to the education department within three months of the commencement of the academic year. They have also demanded that schools should be derecognised if they fail to reserve the requisite seats.