Action against schools if they block admissions

Mumbai: For ongoing admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the education department has warned of strict action against schools which fail to provide admission to students.

Private unaided schools in the city are refusing to accept admissions on grounds that they haven’t yet received reimbursement money from the government. Meanwhile, the education department claims it has cleared the Rs 302.48 crore due from academic year 2012-13 to 2016-17.

According to Santosh Gaikwad, an official who looks after the RTE section at the state education department, Rs 70 crore was released on January 15; Rs 10 crore on March 1; and Rs 138.28 crore on March 27 as reimbursement amount. Before the beginning of this year, the department cleared some amount.

“In total, we have cleared Rs 302.48 crore and this year itself, we have cleared Rs 218 crore. In the coming days, we will try to clear more funds for schools, as for us, education for the students applying under RTE is more important,” Mr Gaikwad told this paper. He said that the department had been trying its best to persuade the finance department of the government to clear the funds.

In the event schools continue to block admission, legal action according to the RTE norms will be taken against them, the official said.