CBSE schools flouting Right to Education Act?

CHENNAI: School admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act will end on Friday. And this year too, CBSE private schools have given a wide berth to such admissions.The Act mandates that all self-financing schools should reserve 25 per cent of their seats at entry level for children belonging to weaker sections.

To streamline this admission process in private schools, the State government had also introduced an online system back in 2017. But, no CBSE school is listed on the online portal. “When I, through an RTI application, sought an explanation from CBSE, I was told that if one wanted to enroll children in CBSE schools under the RTE Act, they would have to approach the school. If any such school refused to enroll the child, the board told us to lodge a complaint,” said J Shankar, a Kovilambakkam resident who helps parents file RTE applications. 

“Most CBSE schools are reluctant to admit students under the RTE Act; they say the government does not honour its commitment to reimburse the fee for RTE seats. If the government promises in an official statement that it will reimburse the fees, then schools will not have a problem,” said KR Nandakumar, State Secretary, TN Nursery, Primary, Matriculation, and CBSE Schools Association. But Shankar said that the board’s reply to his RTI application also stated that none of the CBSE schools had applied for RTE reimbursement. This proved they did not enroll students under the RTE Act, he added.

When contacted, an official from the School Education Department told Express that it was the schools that were reluctant to make admissions and that the department was not responsible for it. The official said the schools should accept applications first and then seek reimbursement.