The BJP government in the state will bear expenses of 3,000 students from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families if they want to study in private schools from next academic year, said Education Minister Ratanlal Nath.
Nath added children from BPL families earlier could notafford to study in private English medium schools due to high fees, so thestate government has decided to bear expenses of 3,000 such students forstudying in private schools.
It is clearly statedin Right to Education Act, 2009 that schools have to admit 25 per cent of totalstudents from local poor families at the entry point. Their fees are alsospecified in the Act. Our government will pay for all expenses of their studyin private schools of their choice.
Right to Education was passed in 2009 but was implemented inthe state only in 2011 after the state rules were formulated. Surprisingly, noprivate school in the state placed demands for reimbursement of fees for poorstudents admitted till 2019, which indicates no such student was admitted inthese schools, the Minister claimed. Authorities of 10 renowned private schoolsin the capital informed us that no students from BPL category were admitted.
As per statistics, 24,000 students have lost their chance tostudy in private English schools with government support in the Left Frontregime. State currently has 4,398 government and government-aided schoolsbesides 335 private schools. State government has also decided to hand over 20state-run schools including 13 closed institutions to ISKCON to run them.
The 13 schools are closed as they don't have any student. In147 other government schools there are a maximum of only 10 students. Stategovernment and 'Indian Tribal Care Trust' would soon sign a MoU and the terms andconditions include that at least there would be 30 students in each of theschools and the schools must be affiliated to the CBSE or ICSE and they shouldfollow the guidelines of Right to Education Act of the Central government.
