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Administrators say Rs 17,670 per student falls short, demand Rs 30,000 instead; private school administrators have given a thumbs down to this decision, calling the amount insufficient given rising operational costs, inflation, and teacher salaries
Increase reimbursemnet, say schools. Representational image. Pic/iStock
The Maharashtra government has fixed the reimbursement for students admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act (25 per cent quota) at R17,670 per student for the academic year 2024-25. However, private school administrators have given a thumbs down to this decision, calling the amount insufficient given rising operational costs, inflation, and teacher salaries. Many are demanding an increase to Rs 30,000 per student.
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Under the RTE Act, private unaided schools are required to reserve 25 per cent of entry-level seats for students from economically weaker sections, with the government reimbursing their tuition fees. Section 12(2) of the Act stipulates that the government must reimburse schools for the tuition fees of these students.
However, school owners argue that the reimbursement covers only a fraction of the actual cost, leaving them to bear the financial burden. With rising expenses and stagnant reimbursement rates, they insist that the government must increase the amount.
“The cost of running a school has significantly increased due to inflation, government taxes, and salary hikes for teachers. The R17,670 reimbursement is nowhere close to what is needed to provide quality education,” said a school administrator.
The government has issued strict verification guidelines to ensure accountability in reimbursements. Schools must provide an RTE approval certificate, verify students admitted through the online lottery system on the SARAL and RTE portals, ensure Aadhaar registration for all RTE students, limit reimbursements to 25 per cent of the actual student intake, and exclude schools that receive free or subsidised land and resources from additional reimbursement beyond their quota. Despite these measures, schools remain sceptical, citing procedural hurdles and long delays in receiving payments. Many claim that pending reimbursements from previous years have worsened their financial stress.
While the government allocated Rs 173 crore for RTE reimbursements in the financial year 2024-25, only R114 crore has been disbursed so far, leaving over Rs 1,700 crore pending. Schools across Maharashtra have been struggling with delayed payments for years, with some alleging that funds have been diverted to other education initiatives like the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
In January 2023, the government-sanctioned R200 crore for RTE reimbursements, yet the allocation for 2024-25 is even lower. This has fuelled frustration among school administrators, who are demanding a more realistic reimbursement policy that aligns with the actual cost of education. S C Kedia, general secretary of the Unaided Schools Forum, said, “This amount is not sufficient as against our operational costs. Besides, the government has still not managed to clear the pending arrears which run into crores. Now they have increased the amount to be reimbursed per student to Rs 17,670 from Rs 17,500. How is this going to help? Government needs to expedite the disbursal of reimbursement and get enough funds to ease the burden on the schools, we have been demanding this for years now.”
Talking to mid-day, a trustee of a school in south Mumbai said, “When schools fall short at anything, the government is quick to take action, are they at all interested in how we are running schools, how we have to bear operational costs.”
An official from the school education department said, “The increase in reimbursement is keeping in mind operational costs. RTE is not just the responsibility of the government. Schools must stop complaining and ensure implementation of RTE.”
25%
Percentage of reservations for EWS students in private schools
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