dna exclusive: Centre's RTE in itsy bitsy pieces

Talk about stirring up a hornet’s nest. A task force set up by the central government has recommended carving out reservations for scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) students from the 25% seat quota that the Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates in private unaided schools.

It has recommended that 8% of the seats falling under the quota for disadvantaged and economically-weaker sections should be kept aside for SCs and 4% for the STs.

The task force, set up by the national monitoring committee for the education of SCs, STs and persons with disabilities, submitted a report with its suggestions on Wednesday. The committee, headed by minister of human resource development (HRD) MM Pallam Raju, was constituted to advise the government on all matters related to the education of SCs, STs and the physically-challenged.

The task force has argued that the odds can be stacked against SC/ST students during admissions to private unaided schools. “There is no break-up of the 25% [reservation] between SC, ST, BC (backward class) and other children below notified income (sic),” states its report.

“This makes it possible for the proprietors of private unaided schools, which are always/almost always non-SC, non-ST to fulfil the 25% stipulation without taking in a single child of the SC, ST or BC.”

Minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor says the ministry will deliberate on the suggestions and will arrive at a decision in four weeks.

Educationist Vinod Raina, who has been the one of the key architects of the RTE Act, is all for the change as long as it is “rational”. “I don’t think this will require an amendment to the Act. If the state governments want, they can mention specific quotas for SCs and STs in their model rules under the RTE Act.” He, however, warns that such a sub-quota can be misused by the rich if an income cap is not laid down.

But Ashok Aggarwal, Delhi high court lawyer and RTE activist, dubs the idea as “populist”.

“The 25% reservation in private schools already covers SCs and STs. The beauty of the Act is that it does not discriminate between different disadvantaged categories. If you create a quota within quota, that defeats the purpose of the Act and makes education exclusive and not inclusive.”

Avnita Bir, principal of RN Poddar School in Mumbai, feels the government is pushing the envelope too much. “I support making schools more inclusive, but to have a sub-quota is asking for a lot. The [RTE] Act is about being open-minded about children from all backgrounds and we try to honour that. But a sub-quota will introduce too many rigidities,” she warns.

What the task force recommends
8% quota for SC, 4% for ST students in private unaided schools.

Reserving seats for SCs, STs and OBCs in private higher education institutions by moving a bill for it in Parliament.

Providing safeguards against discrimination in schools and higher education institutions
Free education for children from SC and ST categories from the primary school to the postgraduate-level.