BENGALURU: The delay in the official notification of the amendments to the Karnataka Education Institutions Rules (1999) has resulted in confusion regarding RTE fee reimbursement to private schools and other issues.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait earlier said that the official notification will be out by November-end. He also promised justice to all stakeholders – students, parents and school managements, with respect to issues concerning the education system of the state, including RTE.
Sources from the Department of Public Instruction said a report submitted by the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) on the issue has recommended to the state government to redesign the process of fee reimbursement to private schools.
“However, it is not yet time to finalise anything on what the government has planned for future as it will require cabinet approval. The next budget session will provide a complete picture on how RTE will look like," he said.
Dr Niranjanaradhya V.P., programme head of Universalisation of Equitable Quality Education Programme and also a member of the KDA committee, said it was high time private schools equally focussed on their social obligation towards providing education to children like government schools.
“The government at the same time put into place a detailed mapping of facilities provided to theses schools from the public resources, as most of these schools are registered under trusts upholding service values. Upgrading government-run schools to be on par with their central counterparts is also equally important to ensure the reach of the fundamental right of quality education to each underprivileged student as well," he said.
Minister must end silence: KAMS
After some recommendations of the report became public, the Karnataka Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools (KAMS) on Friday demanded that the minister break his silence on the issue. They condemned the “misguiding and illogical statements” made by self-proclaimed experts.
“The statements made by the minister and the so-called experts have confused private schools and the public leading to panic among parents. The state government should consider a scientific and constitutional way out of the issue without harming the survival of the budget schools in the state," said D. Shashikumar, General Secretary, KAMS.
He said that such studies should look into the grassroots level to identify the right problems with consultation of all stakeholders to record the reality on various such issues.
'Better allocation of resources'
KDA chariman S.G. Siddaramaiah clarified that the recommendations made to reconsider the process of fee reimbursement to private schools were aimed to redirect better resources to government-run schools to ensure quality education.
“All contributions made to the report by experts were based on a thorough research and never ‘self-claimed’ as alleged by private schools. Avoiding all kinds of discrimination the RTE beneficiaries (students) go through at private schools was pointed out as well as a major concern,” he said.
