Schools urge Tamil Nadu govt to release pending RTE funds

TRICHY: While the Madras high court has allowed private schools to collect fees from parents for the academic year 2020-21, schools said that most parents may not pay the fees considering the uncertainty looming over reopening of schools in view of the Covid-19 crisis.
Instead of burdening parents by making them pay the fees during this pandemic, schools said that state government should release pending funds to private schools for the seats filled under right to education (RTE) Act.
A total 25% seats at the entry level in private schools are reserved under RTE Act for children from underprivileged section of the society for which, the state and Union governments reimburse the tuition fee to the respective schools every year.
While the entire fund to the tune of Rs 500 crore for the last year is pending, 40% of the fund for the year 2018-19 is also pending. “Union government has released its share, but Tamil Nadu government has been delaying the disbursal,” said K R Nandha Kumar, general secretary of Tamil Nadu matric, higher secondary and CBSE schools association. There are 8.5 lakh students covered under RTE seats across 15,000 schools, he said.
Kumar said that the court order allowing private schools to collect 75% of fees in three installments for the academic year 2020-21 indeed has come as a relief, but it may not help unless state government issues it as an order. The state government has no intentions to reopen schools under the present circumstances.
Neither the government has been paying the pending fee reimbursement for RTE seats, nor is it responding to our requests seeking interest-free loans from banks, he said.