Details of RTE admissions to be verified before fee refund

With kindergartens across the State reopening after a long gap, the State government has decided to check details of the children who were admitted in private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act this year to reimburse the fees to the institutions.

The School Education Department has taken measures for the effective implementation of 25 per cent reservation for students belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in all private, non-minority, self-financing schools at the entry-level class.

This year, about 70,000 children who hail from economically poor families have got admitted under RTE. The admission process, which was made online to curb irregularities, was started on July 5 this year. The government has also allocated Rs 469.63 crore towards reimbursement of fees.

A senior School Education Department official told DT Next that a detailed review meeting involving high-level authorities was held to check whether private schools adopted the guidelines with regard to RTE admission.

All private schools were instructed to use only the Educational Management Information System (EMIS), the common platform connecting government, schools and students, to upload details of the children admitted under RTE.

“In addition, it was also decided to give permission to chief educational officers in all districts to review and alter the list of the students admitted under the Act according to merit. After cross-checking the details of the admitted children along with applications, the report will be submitted to the government to release funds,” the official said.

The final list of students admitted under the programme would be uploaded in the central government’s Unified District Information System for Education.

More than 8,000 private schools across the State have to earmark around 1.10 lakh seats under RTE this year. Of these, Tiruvallur has the most number of schools, 554, followed by Chennai with 438 schools, said the official. At the other end is Perambalur district, where there are only 64 schools providing admissions under RTE.