Mumbai: The Maharashtra government needs to clear Rs 2,400 crore in dues towards expenditure on disadvantaged students admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to private schools across Maharashtra, management of private schools claimed on Tuesday at a media interaction.
The Maharashtra English School Trustees Association (MESTA), which counts the state’s around 20,000 private schools among its members, has demanded that their dues be released before March.
MESTA president Sanjayrao Tayade Patil said that the institutes are finding it difficult to operate due to the delay in these payments. He also suggested that the state government bring in a law to protect privately-run English medium schools during conflicts with parents.
"School authorities are unable to run their institutes..."
Patil said, “English schools provide quality education to students at affordable fees. However, the school authorities are unable to run their institutes as there’s no timely release of funds for RTE admissions. This often leads to conflict between schools and parents. As the government’s policy is responsible for this situation, it needs to resolve it by enacting a special law to protect the schools.”
Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 25% of Class 1 and pre-primary seats in private non-minority schools are reserved for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections. These students get education free of cost, while the government reimburses their tuition fees to schools.
The private schools bodies demanded that, in addition to tuition fees, the government also needs to bear the cost of uniforms, books and other stationery. They also asked the state to exclude them from paying property tax and electricity bills.
