Group set up to address RTE-related issues

Nagpur: As issues related to various provisions under Right to Education (RTE), especially reimbursement of fee against free admissions, drag on, a group of Nagpur-based schools decided to come together by forming an association, RTE Foundaiton, to raise these issues directly with authorities concerned.
Sachin Kalbande, one of the co-founders, told TOI that there was an urgent need to have a local association. “There are one or two associations active in Maharashtra but they concentrate their activities largely in western Maharashtra. All their office-bearers are from that region itself. Hence, we strongly felt that Nagpur-focused association needed to come to the fore,” Kalbande said.
A senior academic Surendra Kumar Gulhane was one of the mentors of the group. “Some of my students are now managing educational institutes. They met me a few months ago and discussed the issues and problems faced by educational institutes. I thought it was the time to have a local group to address their issues,” Gulhane said.
While RTE deals with multiple issues related to education, the most contentious part is the free admissions and its reimbursement by government. Around 25% seats are reserved in all private unaided (non-minority) schools for eligible students.
The RTE admissions in Maharashtra are handled directly by the state education department. The entire process is online, right from application to the admission lottery.
The education department is supposed to reimburse the fee amount for every such free admission granted. The fee amount is a uniform one, fixed annually by the government and is not connected to what the school actually charges. But many schools have claimed that various RTE bill reimbursements have still been pending.
Kalbande said, “We will raise these issues through our RTE Foundation. We will not only be fighting for rights of schools but for rights of parents, students and teachers under the RTE Act also.”