Multiple private school associations in Tamil Nadu have opposed the state government's direction to reallocate students under the Right To Education (RTE) quota.
On October 2, the Tamil Nadu government asked private schools in the state to register students already admitted to register them under the RTE quota and to reimburse fees collected from them.
The government had refused to open admissions under the scheme this year, citing the Union government’s denial of funds under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan scheme.
In June, the Madras High Court had directed the Union to release funds under RTE and for the state to open admissions. However, admissions were opened only in October after the Union released funds
Speaking to TNM, KR Nandakumar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Nursery Primary Matric HR Sec School Association, said that it was unfair of the government to make such a demand. “If they want to implement the quota, then they should have new admissions instead of telling us to reallocate already admitted students,” Nandakumar said.
He also wondered if the government would reimburse the funds as they had promised.
K Palaniyappan, general secretary, All India Private Educational Institutions Association, told TOI that the government order would put the schools under unnecessary financial stress. He also asked that the government should recall its order and take fresh applications.