While applications for school admission under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 are being received across the State for the upcoming academic year, the State government is yet to receive over ₹400 crore due to it from the Centre for implementing the scheme.
While the State government is seeking funds for pre-school education, as cited in Section 12 (1) (c) of the Act, the Centre has been insisting that the State government bear the expenses for admissions to pre-school education.
Though the State government has taken up the issue with the Centre multiple times, there has been no favourable response. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, in his memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2017, raised this issue, but it is yet to be addressed, pointed out a senior official.
For admissions made to private schools under the RTE Act during 2013-14 and 2014-15, a reimbursement of ₹97 crore was released by the State government, which claimed the sum under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. But only ₹18 lakh was approved by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.