Mumbai: Bombay High Court has frowned at state govt for “prolonged” delay in reimbursing private unaided schools providing children between 6 and 14 years free education under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. It has asked it to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing reimbursement mechanism.“The consequences of such delay are evident from the repeated litigation reaching this court. The registry has informed us that between January 1 and August 6 alone, no fewer than 133 writ petitions have been instituted,” said Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash on Friday.Three schools filed a contempt petition regarding non-compliance with a March 26 order which recorded that the state will reimburse admissible dues within eight weeks. They have not been reimbursed over Rs 3.6 crore since the 2018-2019 academic year. On Friday, the state’s advocate said the amount shall be released within four weeks. The judges said the matter “once again brings to the fore a recurring issue concerning reimbursement.”The judges said under RTE, eligible schools are required to admit at least 25% of the class 1 children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups and to provide them free elementary education. “Correspondingly, the state is obliged to reimburse such unaided schools,” they added. Further, while there is a procedure for submission and verification of claims, there is no timeline set for processing claims and releasing funds. “Schools are required to continue admitting students … Reimbursement proposals often remain pending for years together thereby placing substantial financial burden upon such institutions,” they noted.The judges said while the state is entitled to scrutinise every proposal before releasing funds, “scrutiny must be undertaken within a reasonable period.” “The object of RTE is to facilitate and not discourage participation of private educational institutions in the implementation of this important social welfare measure,” they underlined.Therefore, the judges opined that the state “should” undertake a comprehensive review of its RTE mechanism. Such review should examine the prescription of definite timelines, a monitoring mechanism and the adequacy of the existing Rs 17,690 per child reimbursement amount since the 2016-17 academic year. They “expect” govt to constitute a committee of senior officials including from finance and school education departments. The committee “may also invite representations from school associations and other stakeholders before making its recommendations.” The judges “hope and trust” that the “necessary exercise” shall be undertaken expeditiously and before the year ends.
