Rajasthan has the highest number of students studying under RTE: Devnani

State education minister Vasudev Devnani on Friday said Rajasthan is the first state where more than 6.5 lakh students are being educated under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

The RTE norms states that 25% of seats in schools should be reserved for children from impoverished families.

Replying to a question raised by independent legislator Hanuman Beniwal during question hour, Devanani informed the House that in Rajasthan there are more than 36,000 private-run schools.

In the private-run schools, fees are regulated by the Fees Regulatory Committee, which comprises of 10 members–five parents and five members of the school management--he said, adding that if a parent is not satisfied, he or she can complain to the committee constituted by the divisional commissioner.

Beniwal said private-run universities and schools were charging higher fees, due to which the RTE was implemeneted but still the situation is same.

Demanding that public representatives be included in the fees regulatory committee, the independent member said that the minister should constitute a high-level committee to probe into the effective implementation of RTE.

Devnani informed that Rajasthan is far ahead of other states in reimbursing schools under RTE. In 2016-17, the state disbursed ₹264.29 crore under RTE, he said.

He further said that in 24,660 private-run schools in the state, fees have been regulated, and in 24,612 schools fee is fixed.

Only private-run schools that are following guidelines, will be given benefit of reimbursement by the government under RTE, he said.

“In 2016-17, of 25,622 private-run schools, 24,387 have been reimbursed and in 1,300 it is still pending.”