Unable to control private school managements from extorting fees from parents of children admitted under the RTE quota, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has removed the word ‘free’ education and retained only the word compulsory from the advertisements issued by the department to raise awareness about the Act.
This comes months after the RTE task force submitted a complaint to the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) stating that the ads issued by the department were misleading as private unaided schools were charging fees for parents whose children were admitted under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education reservation quota. This, even as the department issued a circular to private unaided schools stating that extorting fees from parents of students admitted under the RTE quota is not acceptable.
The department had roped in Kannada actors — Puneet Rajkumar and Radhika Pandit — to raise awareness about the RTE Act. The new advertisements appearing in newspapers and on various television channels mentioned that compulsory education is mandatory for children between 6 and 14 years. However, it has left out the word ‘free’ that was used in earlier advertisements and the central legislation itself.
Condemning the move, RTE task force convener Nagasimha G. Rao said it was extremely irresponsible on the part of the department to remove the word ‘free’ from advertisements. “In stead of making sure that private schools do not exploit parents of children admitted under the RTE quota, the department has washed away its responsibility and removed the word ‘free’.”
The government reimbursement ceiling to private schools is fixed at Rs.11,848 a year for a child admitted to Class 1 and Rs. 5,924 for a child in pre-primary class. Private school managements had contended that the amount was not adequate.
Pinning hopesRajesh Kumar, a parent who had pinned his hopes on the RTE quota in private unaided schools for his six-year-old child said, “Schools are asking us for thousands of rupees under various subheads, such as uniform fees, library fees and for various extracurricular activities that are mandatory. As I was unable to pay the fee, my child is still not enrolled in a school.”
In response, Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin said the word ‘free’ had been removed from the advertisement since admission process for the RTE quota seats has been completed for the current academic year.
