Telangana says no money for 25 per cent poor under RTE
States have to individually make rules under the RTE and implement them
Hyderabad: The Telangana government is trying to come up with ways to escape the financial burden of implementing 25 per cent free education for poor children in private schools.
The High Court has insisted on the implementation of the statute from the Right to Education Act but the state government doesn’t want to spend on it.
Conservative estimates suggest that implementation of the statute will cost the state government Rs 150 in the first year, increasing to Rs 1200 crore by the eighth year.
The RTE Act mandates 25 per cent seats in all private schools to be reserved for poor children and be provided free of cost. But admissions under this statute can only be given in the 1st standard of a school.
States have to individually make rules under the RTE and implement them. The High Court has insisted that the rule be implemented in Telangana.
However, unwilling to spend such amounts, the TS government is now looking to find ways to minimise the financial burden.
“On one hand, the High Court is asking us to implement 25 per cent free reservation in private schools. On the other hand, there is no money to bear the financial burden,” a senior official in the TS education ministry said. Officials are now studying the implementation in other states like Haryana.