Following the age old practice of trying to circumvent the law, schools which did not enjoy a minority status, have begun vying for it to avoid admitting poor students under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Sensing trouble, the state government has come up with a strategy of its own to defeat them at their own game. Much to the horror of the institutions concerned, it announced after the last Cabinet meeting, that only schools with 75 per cent of students from a minority community could qualify for the tag, which would free them from having to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for students from a poor economic background. As expected, the announcement created a furore in the affected religious and linguistic minority schools, many of them elite, as they had until now smugly anticipated keeping a distance from RTE.
While non-minority schools represented by associations like KUSMA and the Karnataka State Private Schools Management Federation rejoiced, the outraged minority schools have decided to challenge the government's decision in court unless it relents. “The decision is quite laughable as it has been made without any real study of the facts. We are a linguistic minority institution but only eight per cent of the population in Bengaluru South speaks Konkani. How can we possibly meet the 75 per cent criterion?” asks Ms Sheela Bolar, principal, Innisfree School.
“This new rule of the state government is going to create ghettos in India,” warns Ms Nooraine, principal, Inventure Academy, which is a Muslim minority school under the present definition. “The government’s changed definition will only serve to intensify the emphasis on caste and religion, instead of us moving toward a unified country. I’m a Muslim and I’d like a progressive, unified India, but the government isn’t assisting us with that,” she charges.
But Mr D. Shashi Kumar, secretary, Karnataka State Private Schools Management Federation, finds nothing wrong with the step the government has taken. “This order is a very good one as now many more schools will come under RTE. From the point of view of the children, we are very happy with the government’s decision,” he says, although admitting that minority institutions are not likely to give in without a fight. “As they are likely go to court on the issue, it will be a long time before anything happens. The government should have called for a meeting with minority institutions before announcing its decision,” he believes.