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Admissions done, no seats left for more students this year: schools
Principals from schools in the city on Monday said it would not be possible to ensure that 25% of the seats are reserved for economically weaker students from Class 1 or entry level, a provision under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, from this June.
Principals from schools in the city on Monday said it would not be possible to ensure that 25% of the seats are reserved for economically weaker students from Class 1 or entry level, a provision under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, from this June.
Schools said they have already completed the admission process for the 2012-13 academic year and have no vacant seats for the reserved category students.
"We have not even got a circular from the education department on the implementation of the 25% clause under the act. The government has also not issued guidelines to define which students will fall under this category," said Najma Kazi, principal, Anjuman-I-Islam's Saif Tyabji Girls' High School in Byculla.
Schools are also upset about the financial burden that they will have to bear, as the government will reimburse only Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000 per student per year.
"On the one hand, they want us to accommodate students from the weaker sections, and on the other hand, we cannot even hike our school fees. The minimum fees for an international school is Rs. 1 lakh," said Kavita Aggrawal, principal, DG Khetan International School, Malad.
According to rules, schools cannot hike their fees to accommodate the economically weaker students.
The Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Collection of Fees) Act, 2011, states that schools can hike the fees once every two years only with the approval of the Parent Teacher Association.
Educationists said there's no awareness of the act for people to use it to their advantage.
"Parents from economically weaker sections are not even aware that they can enroll their children into private schools," said Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education.
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