A Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report, tabled in the Karnataka Assembly recently, has revealed that the state government has refunded ₹ 7.07 crore in excess fees for students enrolled under the Right to Education Act-2009 (RTE Act). to private unaided schools during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21.
As per the provisions of RTE Act Rule-2, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) refunds the fees of students admitted under RTE quota in private unaided schools. During the pandemic, the Karnataka High Court had directed private schools in the state to provide 15% concession in fees for the academic year 2020-21, noting that the facilities were underutilized as academic sessions were conducted only online due to Covid. -19 pandemic.
Based on the court’s direction, the department had in November 2021 directed private unaided schools to collect 85 per cent of the tuition fees collected in 2019-20 as fees for 2020-21 only.
However, the data shows that the order was not followed. “Scrutiny of data from RTE portal regarding reimbursement of tuition fees for RTE students in respect of unaided private schools showed that schools did not comply with court orders and claimed excess fees. Government refunded excess fees of ₹ 7.07 crore claimed by schools,” CAG on “Functioning of Primary Educational Institutions in Karnataka” said in the report.
There is no fee monitoring mechanism
According to Section 48 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, no recognized educational institution shall levy or collect any fees or charges or donations or other payments other than those prescribed.
However, the department has no mechanism to monitor the amount of fees collected by private unaided institutions and verify whether they meet the norms of the Act. “Lack of monitoring has affected affordability and access to education for students in violation of fee regulations,” the report said.
The CAG has also identified an increase in enrollment in private educational institutions compared to government-aided schools in the state in recent years.
Government schools account for 72 percent of the total number of schools in the state, while private schools account for 28 percent. However, in terms of enrollment, from 2017 to 2022, 51 percent of children were enrolled in private schools and the remaining 49 percent in government schools.
Subject teachers
Although the overall Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in the state is adequate, DSEL has not ensured availability of sufficient subject-specific teachers and moderately qualified teachers in many schools.
As per RTE Act norms, PTR of primary and upper primary schools was fixed as 30:1 and 35:1 respectively. However, PTR in government schools has increased from 21.63 in 2017-18 to 26.19 in 2021-22.
During the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22, the PTR of upper primary schools has increased in all 34 educational districts. .
Single-teacher schools
Section 25 of the RTE Act requires two teachers in every school with an enrollment of up to 60 students. However, as of 2021-22, single-teacher schools still existed in the state. The audit showed that the number of single teacher schools increased from 4,652 in 2017-18 to 6,616 in 2021-22.
Teacher vacancy
Out of the total sanctioned number of 1,88,415 teachers in the state, 48,182 teacher posts were vacant in 2021-22 which is 26% of the total sanctioned number. It has been found that there are 27 percent teacher vacancies in rural areas and 21 percent in urban areas.
An examination of the records of Urdu medium schools in the eight selected districts revealed that in 38 Urdu medium schools, Urdu-qualified teachers were not available and teachers qualified for Kannada medium were posted.
published – December 16, 2024 at 01:14 pm IST