Income limit will be decided in next few days

JS Sahariya is the additional chief secretary, school education.

The definition for economically backward is not yet fixed. When will this be decided?

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There are various opinions on whether to follow the poverty line income bracket or fix it at up to Rs1 lakh annual income, like in Delhi. We have sent it for legal opinion. We will decide on it in the next two to three days.

There are schools which have already completed the admission process, and even started their term? How will they make changes now?

The Act came into force in 2010 and was applicable to all schools across boards from then itself. Schools should have kept 25% seats open. Even when the matter was challenged in court, no one asked the schools not to follow this provision. All schools, across all boards will have to follow this from this academic year.

The school may pass on the burden of subsidising these children to other students. Can the government prevent this?

The Act asks schools to bear any excess cost over the government reimbursement. They have to work this out on their own. It is not our domain. While doing this, as per the Act, they will need to ensure there is no distinction between students.

As per the Act, the state government has the right to fine a school Rs10 lakh for not adhering to the provisions of the Act. We also have the right to cancel the school’s permissions.

The RTE only covers Class 1 to 8. What happens to these students after Class 8?

The Act mentions that schools need to admit these children at the entry level, be it Class 1 or pre-primary. We not reimburse pre-primary fees. It will take 8 years for the current class 1 batch to reach Class 8, so we will take a call then based on the decisions of the central government.