Allowing unrestricted admission of children to private unaided schools under the RTE quota has resulted in ‘zero’ admission in hundreds of government schools in the State since 2012-13. This has benefited private institutions as the number of new unaided private schools has gone up by around 3,000 during this period, the State government told the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday.
Justifying the new rule that disallows admission under RTE quota seats in unaided private schools when a government or private aided school is available in the neighbourhood, Advocate-General Uday Holla pointed out that the primary object of the RTE Act is to provide elementary education in the neighbourhood by establishing government schools.
The recent amendments to the Karnataka RTE Rules would not take way the right of a child to seek admission in neighbourhood schools, but would allow admission in an unaided private school, including pre-primary class, with fee reimbursement by the government only when no government or aided school is available in the neighbourhood, Mr. Holla said.
ADVERTISEMENT
These submissions were made before a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice L. Narayanaswamy and P.S. Dinesh Kumar during the hearing of petitions filed by the RTE Students’ and Parents’ Association, Bengaluru and others, questioning the validity of amending the Karnataka RTE Rules.
Pointing out that the government has made a huge expenditure, of around ₹1,300 crore, towards reimbursing fees for students admitted to unaided private schools under the RTE quota seats since 2012-13, the A-G said that the government intends to provide free education in government schools in the neighbourhood and wants to improve the facility by offering English as a medium of instruction in around 1,000 government schools across the State.
Meanwhile, in its statement, the government has pointed out that prior to amendment of the rules, the local authority was empowered to identify unaided private schools irrespective of the neighbourhood though the RTE Act says admission has to be in a school in the neighbourhood.
ADVERTISEMENT
The allowing of admission under the RTE quota even in unaided private schools appears to be a transitory measure for a period of three years and once a government school is established in a neighbourhood, there cannot be any admission in the unaided private school in that neighbourhood, the government claimed in its statement.
Allowing admission in unaided private schools under RTE quota when government schools are available in the neighbourhood would be destructive to the very purpose of the RTE Act, the government claimed.