The Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association has called for bringing in a counselling system, akin to that conducted by the Government for engineering admissions, to fill the seats in the quota created by the Right To Education (RTE) Act.
The association has expressed its willingness to surrender the seats to the Government, which can directly fill the RTE Act quota. Such a system will eliminate charges of admitting ineligible students. A resolution to this effect was passed during an association meeting here on Monday.
Besides seeking an end to pressurising private schools to fill the RTE Act quota seats, the association said such a system would also bring in clarity in the admission process. While thanking the State Government for releasing funds to reimburse private schools, association president R. Visalakshmi said that the scope of the Act must be restricted. The current norms were too broad, she said, adding that it must be changed so that the Act benefitted only the economically weaker sections. She called for bringing down the income ceiling to Rs. 24,000 per year from the current limit of Rs. 2 lakh to become eligible for admissions under RTE Act.
She also sought the revival of an earlier system of according ‘permanent recognition’ to private schools which were functioning for more than ten years. Permanent recognition, which is not being given for the past 15 years, means that schools will only have to submit the structural stability, fire safety and sanitation certificates periodically. Now, schools also have to renew their recognition every three years in a process which they say is tedious and cumbersome.
