AP’s private schools disregard the Right to Education Act’s free provision

The Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009’s 12(1) (C) requirements, which call for 25% of students to be admitted to Class I, have not been followed by private schools in the state.

Parents and students are now concerned about how committed educational institutions are to upholding their Act-mandated responsibilities in light of this.

The RTE Act sought to provide all children between the ages of six and fourteen who belong to underprivileged and marginalized groups free and compulsory education.

Many schools in the State, including IB/ICSE/CBSE/State syllabus institutions, refuse to provide free education in defiance of orders from the Supreme Court and the State government, infuriating parents and campaigners alike.

Parents Association of AP President Sikharam Narahari, in an interview with TNIE, stated, “It is appalling to see private schools blatantly disregarding the orders of the State government and the Supreme Court.” It is unacceptable that private schools are not adhering to the RTE Act, and this has to be rectified right now.

In addition, he said that while the Department of School Education has allocated funding for the 2024–25 academic year, it is unclear how these monies are being used to sustain the free education offered in private schools.

The legislation mandates that school administrators register on the RTE website and that local authorities map schools to residential areas based on neighborhood boundaries as announced by the State prior to the start of the annual admissions cycle.

The association’s State Secretary, G Eswariah, said that this year’s online application for private schools registered in 2023–24 isn’t accessible in their home mapping regions. Some regions display government schools online rather than private ones.

Only schools that are one kilometer apart from one another are included in certain districts. He said that according to the legislation, schools must be created if there are none within one kilometer, and in that case, there should be two or three.

According to him, the education department did not set aside funds for private school tuition in 2022–2023 or 2023–2024 as required by the RTE Act. Furthermore, he said that the law’s requirements for free education—which include textbooks, notebooks, and school uniforms—are not being followed.

Commissioner of School Education S Suresh Kumar said, “We are taking action against schools that are reluctant to register on the RTE website,” in an interview with TNIE. We are requesting DEOs to confirm these schools and take appropriate action since last year’s registered schools could not have been available online due to ongoing construction. He said that only the seats outside of the radius would be shown after the available seats within a radius of one mile have been filled.

Mekala Raveendra Babu, a co-chair of the AP Private Schools State Council, said, “The government is pressuring us to register on the website, even though the matter is in the High Court.” The government insists on receiving just ~15,000, which covers books, uniforms, shoes, belts, ties, and school fees, even if we are eager to cooperate. Budget schools are further burdened by this.