Schools flout RTE Act with impunity

25 October 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 25 OCT: The rules of Right to Education (RTE) Act have been laid down but not everyone is in a mood to follow them. Several prominent schools in West Midnapore have been flouting the rules with impunity in the absence of any guideline and a mechanism to enforce the provisions of the Act.
The state education minister has clearly stated that stringent action would be taken if any school, irrespective of affiliation to any board, flouts the rules and conducts admission test. Even schools till Class VI come under the Act. Concerned over this, the district inspector of schools (secondary) in East Midnapore has already issued a notice (no. 613-S-dt 21.10.11) to all schools asking them to follow the RTE Act properly, while no notification has been issued from the part of West Midnapore yet.
This apart, students and parents from the economically-weaker sections of society are still finding it tough to use the RTE Act effectively. Instances of alleged expulsion, mental harassment and misbehaviour have been reported against some private un-aided schools. In rural areas of the district, especially in Junglemahal, several school owners and principals are not even aware of the guidelines. “I had to shell out Rs 25,000 as donation, besides the usual funds and fee for admission of my son in a leading school of Midnapore town,” said Mr Rathin Basak (name changed on request).
Similarly, a leading school in Midnapore has been conducting a test for students seeking admission in Classes V, VI, VII and VIII. A teacher of a leading school in Kharagpur said their school had no official word on the new directions and hence had gone ahead with the entrance test for classes under eighth standard.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) recently slammed the state government for not implementing the RTE Act in the state. The statement also said the state had not yet prepared the rules of the Act. This is so “even though the last three years have seen allocation of up to Rs 4,000 crore for implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the state,” it said.
Some parents of students in Midnapore alleged that many schools in the districts are deliberately conducting admission tests, while no action has been taken against the school authorities yet. Concerned over the matter, the Chhatra Parishad plans to submit a memorandum to the district inspector of schools (secondary) on Thursday with a demand for immediate implementation of the Act in every school.