Gujarat: Right to Education, yes. Financial assistance, no as 800 parents borrow money to buy books, uniforms

More than 800 economically backward parents have come to realise that Right to Education (RTE) may provide their wards admission to private schools but that does not necessarily mean they will get financial assistance of Rs 3,000 from the state government. Many of them have not received a single rupee even after three years and are forced to borrow money to sustain education of their sons and daughters.

A DEO official claimed there’s not enough grant to give assistance to every parent while an NGO warned that government apathy can lead to rise in drop out of kids studying under RTE. State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama maintained, “Issues pertaining to RTE were discussed twice in the Vidhan Sabha. But we have not come across any case of parents not receiving assistance.

However, I will get the details and see if there are such cases. Also, we will immediately address the matter if parents write to us.” Provisions under RTE Under RTE, the state government facilitates admission in private schools and provides assistance of Rs 3,000 to parents per child per year for buying books, uniform, schoolbag etc. However, there are many who have not received assistance even once since 2015-16 when the state government started to give it.

When Rs 3,000 makes a huge difference
Yasmin Ajmeri, whose daughter studies in Class 4 at Model English School, Juhapura, said, “We had opened a bank account where the government assistance could be deposited directly. However, due to zero balance the account has been closed. I have not received Rs 3,000 even once. After our daughter got admission under RTE three years ago, we were happy that she would be provided free education.

But not anymore. While education is free, I have been borrowing money to purchase books and uniform.” Till now Ajmeri has borrowed around Rs 6,000 to make sure that her daughter’s education does not suffer. Krutika Sutariya, a parent whose son studies under RTE at DAV International School, said, “My son is in class 2 and we have checked our bank account several times eagerly awaiting deposit of the amount but are yet to receive it. We were informed that the money is deposited two months after the school starts. Maybe it’s our fault for not checking with the government officials.”

Jitendra Parmar, whose daughter studies in an Ambawadi school and will now come in class 3, said, “I have not received any incentive. While the school says they have already sent the report to the DEO office, officials there claim they have not received it. I have visited the DEO office number of times but there’s no solution yet. For a middle class family Rs 3,000 means a lot.

Government should look into the matter.” Sahana Begum’s case is unique. Her daughter was admitted to a Navrangpura school three years ago under RTE. But she’s yet to receive Rs 3,000 assistance even once. Recounting her plight, she said: “It’s difficult for us to make two ends meet. We are thankful for free education but for people like us Rs 3,000 is a huge amount. What is the point of free education when the government fails to provide assistance on time?”

‘Drop out cases may rise’
Sanjida Shaikh, who coordinates with RTE parents and works for NGO SAATH, said, “In the first place, it’s difficult to convince parents to admit their children under RTE. We bring them around by telling them that besides free education, the government takes care of other needs like uniform, books by providing financial aid. But when the assistance fails to reach such parents, many of them may discontinue their child’s education because they can’t afford it.”

DEO office gets 10 cases per day
An official working in the DEO office, on condition of anonymity, said, “On an average 10 parents visit the DEO office daily with the query as to when will they get their Rs 3,000. But the problem is that the government does not have enough grant to disburse the amount to all. There must be more than 800 such parents in Ahmedabad.” Mujahid Nafees, an RTE activist, said, “Cases of parents not receiving financial aid are few. I believe they might not be getting it due to technical error. However, fact remains that it’s government’s responsibility to ensure aid is given to parents on time so that no child is forced to go without education.”