Strict action for flouting RTE norms
The education department has armed education inspectors in the city with sweeping powers to ensure that private schools properly implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act. According to department officials, the powers are intended to ensure that the inspectors are able to take quick decisions to make the school abide by the rules.
“Last year, the department was unable to implement the RTE as there was a lot of confusion and ambiguity in the implementation of the rules. However, in preparation for the next academic year, the department has, through various workshops and seminars, clarified the rules and hence, each and every school is bound to implement it,” said N.B. Chavan, deputy director of education.
He added that despite the department’s initiative managements of certain schools were reluctant to abide by the rules on one pretext or the other and hence, it was deemed necessary to vest the education inspectors of different wards with sufficient powers to ensure that schools did not flout the rules.
“The inspectors have been asked to check whether the schools have complied with the rules and if not, initiate punitive action against them. Hence, now an inspector can cancel the recognition of the school or levy a fine or file criminal cases against the schools flouting the rules,” said Mr Chavan.
The move has come as a relief for the inspectors who have been under tremendous pressure to ensure that the RTE Act is implemented across all schools in the city.
“Previously, we were only empowered to approach a school and take a compliance report from them. Even if we found that the schools were not abiding by the rules we could only make a report and submit it to the department for further action. However, now we can issue memos to the schools on the spot and get the schools to toe the line,” said an inspector.
Apart from seeing to it that schools fill up the 25 per cent reservation quota, the inspectors also have to see to it that there are proper toilets, infrastructure, drinking water, qualified teachers, a healthy and clean atmosphere etc.
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