AGARTALA: Tripura government has warned private-run 335 schools for violating Right to Education Act (RTEA) while admitting students for last nine years and asked the department to identify the officials for whom as many as 27,000 children of under privileged section were deprived of getting admission.
Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath, however, admitted the fact that due to negligence of the the Left Front government, the most important provision of RTEA was violated and the meritorious poor students could not get entry into the convent schools.
As per the rule framed under RTEA in 2011, the private schools have to allow at least 25 per cent of the poor students at entry level residing within one to three kilometres distance from the school.
The monthly expenditure of those students would be paid by the state government and later provisioned to get reimbursement from ministry of human resource development (MHRD).
“The then government and its administration did not bother to ensure the admission of poor students in the posh schools despite knowing the provision of the Act. Neither the government nor the school authorities took any steps to comply with the provision of RTEA. As a result, both the schools and the children were deprived of the callous action of the administration and we have taken it very seriously,” the education minister said.
He further stated that the schools might not have incurred any loss of business even if they admitted the poor students, as whatever be the fees annually it would be paid by the government.
The education minister said they also could get the privilege of inspiring other students by admitting some economically-backward class.
Nath also pointed out that all the private schools were asked to ensure the admission of 25 per cent of under privileged students from next academic session as per the rule, and also warned them to be careful about compliance of directions of central and state government besides the court orders. (UNI)
