The fate of thousands of students hangs in the balance after the government notified 200 unrecognised schools that defied the RTE Act. They may have to be closed. With the three-year deadline for schools to meet the infrastructural requirements under the Right To Education (RTE) Act coming to an end yesterday, hundreds of private schools in the City which are yet to comply are on the brink of closure. Compared with other states, AP has not been successful in implementing the RTE Act. Not even 50 per cent of the provisions in the Act have been implemented so far, say educationalists.
Though the State claims that it has been ensuring that underprivileged students get their fundamental right of education, the truth is at variance with the claim. Most of the requirements remain unfulfilled, one of the major failures being the 25 per cent reservation for the underprivileged students in private schools.
“For private schools to reserve 25 per cent seats and offer free education, the government has to reimburse the fees to the schools. However, so far, the State government has not constituted a committee to discuss the procedure and has not sanctioned any model for the effective implementation of this provision as of now,” says DEO, Chinna Reddy.
Primary education minister part of RTE debate A massive meeting held at Jubilee Hall, public gardens, today saw a large number of MLCs, NGOs, educationists and parents, besides the primary education minister Shailajanath, debating on RTE and its impact on public and private schools. The question veered round to the view that the government was not taking care of the public schools which necessitated migration to private and corporate schools. What steps ought to be taken to strengthen the infrastructure and faculty of these schools is the crucial question being debated. Also in focus is the role of private schools and their failure to implement the RTE.
Stating that the government is being pressurised by the private sector, and hence, has failed to implement it, educationalist and MLC B Mohan Reddy said, “The reason for the government’s failure, to ensure the implementation of the RTE Act is clearly because of the pressure from the top-notch schools in the private sector. Private schools still continue collecting exorbitant fees from students at the time of admission and do not want to let go of it. The State has failed to ensure that all private schools have proper facilities and infrastructure. Many schools do not have computer labs, spacious classrooms, and playgrounds.”
Another major failure is the non-implementation of the teacher-pupil ratio. “Though the recommended ratio is 1:40, up to Class V, what remains is 1:60. Nearly 1,000 teacher posts still lie vacant,” says M Ravindar, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Teaching Federation.
However, stating that stern action will be taken against schools that have failed to implement RTE Act so far, Hyderabad district collector Syed Ali Murtuza Rizvi said, “In 2009, when the RTE Act came into existence, it was the duty of the school management to start implementing them. But most have been dilly-dallying despite a number of reminders. Ignoring the law will not be tolerated and action will be taken,” he said.
HPS — a role model for other schools One of the oldest schools in the City, HPS has been implementing the RTE Act since its inception in 2009. In compliance with the Act, the school has reserved seats for students from underprivileged backgrounds. All the branches of the school have implemented the Act and have been making the admission process more student friendly. “Reservation of seats for students from underprivileged background is not new for HPS. We have been implementing the Act since 2009. The school has been admitting students in the presence of the officers of the district education department, so that there is transparency in the whole process. Students who join the school on the basis of reservation are doing well like the students who get admitted on a regular basis,” said a senior staff of the management at HPS.
200 unrecognised schools to close The education department has decided to close down around 200 unrecognised schools by May this year. “We have sent all the unrecognised schools a number of circulars calling them for recognition. However, some 200 unrecognised schools
have failed to implement the Act. By May, we will be booking those schools and filing police cases and will shut them down,” said Chinna.