Many English medium schools in the city have an abysmally low admission rate, thanks to poor quality of infrastructure and teaching facilities. The District Information System for Education (DISE) report 2011-12, covering Bengaluru North and South districts, reveals that there is a huge demand for seats in prestigious schools, while on the other, hundreds of schools are going without enough students. Even at these “popular” schools, the ideal 1:30 teacher-student ratio has not been adopted, it states.
Experts say the DISE report is an eye-opener for all those who are crusading for implementing the Right to Education (RTE) Act at all schools. They warn that with the introduction of the act, which ensures 25 per cent of seats for underprivileged children in all private schools irrespective of the quality of education imparted, the school managements would make huge amounts of money at the cost of tax-payer. The report stated that of the 937 schools in Bengaluru North district, 243 schools had less than 20 enrolments for the first standard during 2011-12.
In Bengaluru South district, of the 1,379 schools, 417 had less than 20 enrollments for the first standard. In hundreds of schools, admissions were in single digit and in many schools, the number of teachers was more than the number of students, the report said. The report also shed light on how private schools were flouting the government norm on the teacher-student ratio. As per RTE rules, all private schools should follow have one teacher for every 30 students. But except a few, most schools had more than 30 students per teacher.
Misuse of funds
Experts felt that the mandatory 25 per cent reservation clause covering all private schools, without considering the quality of education, would defeat the very purpose of RTE. The government is planning to reimburse up to Rs 11,000 per student per year against the seats surrendered by the schools. But if the government adopts even those schools with poor quality of education and poor admission, it would only help the school managements, which will mint money.
A senior officer of the education department said that the issue is sensitive. “Many schools are run by vested interests. If we omit these schools from the RTE purview, they will definitely move the courts of law. They will catch hold of some students and put pressure for funds under the RTE. If we allow these schools, it is a waste of tax-payers’ money,” he said.