The state education department in Rajasthan lately slashed the annual reimbursement to private schools for admitting students under RTE. The reimbursements have been dropped down from Rs 17,732 to Rs 15,029 per child. The private schools in the state of Rajasthan have opposed against this decision of the state education department. Schools have challenged that they not sit quietly against this and will take this further to the court for the unjust slashing of amount by the state. According to the RTE Act, the state government will reimburse private schools at the same rate to what they are spending per child in their schools.
Where on one hand all the private schools are in anger and are talking this ahead to the court, the State Education Department says that this move of reducing the reimbursement was taken keeping in mind the state’s claim that said enrolments in the schools have increased and number of teachers comparatively have decreased in schools, which ultimately has overall reduced their spendings. The state has witnessed an increase in the enrolment has increasd in the elementary education by 5% and at the same time the number of teachers has been reduced by 2% from 2014-15 to 2015-16.
The private schools in Rajasthan have termed it `miscalculated and unjust’ and have objected to the move, having serious consequences on them. “The rise in enrolments and decline in the number of teachers must not have made a difference of more than 7% in expenditure of the government. It is also interesting to note that DA must have increased by 15%-18% which neutralises the cost reduction by way of increase in enrolment and decrease in teachers,” said Damodar Goyal, president of Society for Private Unaided Schools in Rajasthan.
Private schools have lately claimed that the private school’s expenditure has increased by almost 10% on a scale of CPI (consumer price index). The schools claimed that there is no relation between the expenditure done by government and increase in the cost of per child in the private schools. “Schools with better infrastructure and teacher pupil ratio will be worst affected by reduction in reimbursement rate as they get between 25% and 50% of their total per child expenditure through reimbursements,” said a private school principal.
