Madras HC cracks whip on RTE

Chennai: The Madras high court directed the education department to display on its website within three days the number of seats available with different educational institutions in the 25 percent quota for students belonging to disadvantaged group / weaker section.

Passing further orders on a PIL from Change India (Centre for Advocacy and Research), a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam said, “Counsel appearing for the education department undertakes to this court on behalf of the department that the steps, as envisaged and set out in the counter affidavit, have been taken and will continue to be taken to ensure wide publicity to facilitate students to apply in the 25 percent quota.

In addition, we call upon the education department to also display on their website within three days the number of seats in the 25 per cent quota available with different educational institutions and for the district education officers to play a pro-active role”. The vacant 25 per cent reservation category seats were to be kept vacant till the end of November 2015 in terms of the Rules. “Thus, by the next date, we will have the benefit of how many seats have been utilised and how many are vacant, so that necessary directions may be issued to  fill up even the balance seats, if any”, the bench added. Listing the matter on July 6, the bench directed counsel for the Union government to obtain instructions in respect of the funding issue and file an affidavit within four weeks. 

In his petition, the petitioner sought a direction to the state government, to ensure that all schools mandated to admit 25 per cent seats with disadvantaged/weaker sections students for the academic year 2015-16 without any delay. In its counter, P. Alagesan, joint secretary to government, school education department submitted that in G.O dated April 1, 2013 clear guidelines were issued for the effective implementation of 25 per cent reservation for students belonging to disadvantaged group / weaker section in all private non-minority unaided schools including CBSE/ICSE schools.  In 2013-14, 49,864 students were admitted and in 2014-15, 86,729 students were admitted.

As the government of India had refused reimbursement of fee for an amount of Rs25.13 crore for the year 2013-14, and had admitted only an amount of Rs14 lakh out of the total of Rs71.91 crore claimed for the year 2014-15, the management of private schools refused to admit students for the year 2015-16. In order to ensure proper implementation of RTE Act, and to continue to give benefit to the children, the state government issued an order dated May 16, 2015 sanctioning the release of 'Rs 97.05 crore. The state government was very keen in achieving 100 per cent admission, he added.