State govt denying free education to poor kids in private schools: AAP

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday asked the Punjab government to take immediate steps to ensure 25% free seats for children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in all private primary schools in the state under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

Accusing successive governments of depriving such children of their right to free education in private schools, leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the Act, which mandates reservation of a minimum of 25% free seats for children belonging to economically weaker sections in all private unaided primary schools, was adopted by the previous SADBJP government in 2011, but its provisions were diluted even though the Central govenrment was to give funds for free education.

“The state authorities introduced a clause that children of weaker sections and disadvantaged groups should go to government schools. If there is no state-run school in the vicinity or no seat is available in it, they should be given the no-objection certificate (NOC) for admission in private school with the state government giving reimbursement to such neighbourhood school,” said Khaira.

He was accompanied by Kirpal Singh, a retired account officer of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), who has been pursuing this issue for the past several years.

Khaira said that not a single child was given NOC by the school education department in the last eight years.

The SAD-BJP and the present Congress governments had failed the children from poor and disadvantaged families because the state-run schools lacked teachers, infrastructure, etc, he said.

The AAP leader, who has written to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on this, said the party would take the matter in the forthcoming budget session of the state assembly.

There are 9,500 registered private schools in the state. Earlier, the CAG, in its audit report, had pointed out shortcomings in the implementation of schemes for poor children in the state.