Amid the ongoing row between the State Government and private schools over the rule 134 A of the Haryana School Education Rules 2003, Haryana Government on Thursday announced to increase the reimbursement of fee given to private schools which provide admission to meritorious poor students under Section 134A.
Apart from this, the Government also announced to extend the temporary recognition of private schools by one year.
Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma presided over a meeting with representatives of various associations of private school managements here in this regard.
Talking to the mediapersons after the meeting, the Education Minister said that under Section 134A, students of classes II to V in private schools in rural areas which provide admission to meritorious poor students would be given Rs 300 per month and those in urban areas would be given Rs 500 per month as reimbursement.
Similarly, students of Classes VI to VIII in private schools in rural areas which provide admission to meritorious poor students would be given Rs 500 per month and those in urban areas would be given Rs 700 per month as reimbursement. The amount would be credited directly into bank accounts of these students, he added.
He said that recognition period of the private schools which have already been granted temporary recognition would be extended by one year.
The Minister said that a Coordination Committee comprising officers and private school operators has been constituted for
redressal of problems being faced by the private schools. This Committee would
meet at least once in a month, he added.
Notably, the owners of private schools in various district had staged demonstrations against the implementation of Rule 134-A of the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003. Notably, rule 134-A of the Haryana School Education Rules states that private schools shall reserve 10 percent seats for meritorious students belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and the school shall charge fee from these students at the same rate as charged in Government schools.
Earlier, the State Government had reserved 25 per cent seats for EWS category under
Rule 134A, but it was reduced to 10 percent in 2013 following strong protests from private schools.
The owners of private schools were demanding scrapping of Rule 134-A and implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act and to clear their dues of the last few years which were not paid by the State Government. They had also demanded the release of education
vouchers per month for all poor students.