Schools in West Bengal would be able to implement the "25 per cent poor children per class" quota under the Right To Education Act only from academic year 2011. A few schools, however, are organising afternoon classes for the children to meet the quota as early as possible.
The Right to Education law makes it obligatory for state governments and local bodies to ensure every child, in the age group of 6-14 years, gets an education opportunity in a school in the neighbourhood.
Indrani Ganguly, principal of Shri Shikshayatan School, said: "If parents' income is one-third of our school fees, then their children fall under the poor children category. We admit poor children now on a need basis."
"For this year, our admissions are over, so we cannot accommodate new students. However, our immediate alternative is that we will put the poor children in the afternoon classes who will be taught the same curriculum as regular students," Ganguly added. Shri Shikshayatan is privately run and does not get any government grants, she claimed.
Loveleen Saigal, headmistress of Birla High School, said: "We admit a few poor students on need basis. We can fulfil the poor children quota only from next year because admissions for this year are over."
However, convent schools like Loreto have already set aside around 50-60 per cent of their intake for poor children. "Around 60 per cent of our intake already comes from very deprived families, with whom we are involved in some way or the other. So, identifying them is never a problem."
"The dearness allowances come from the government. Other than that, we run our institutions on grants, donations and other resources," said S M Cyril, principal of Loreto, Sealdah.
School Education Minister Partha Dey, however, is against the provision that while policies and directives would be given by the Centre, the onus of the implementation would be entirely on the state.
Dey pointed out that while the statute provided for "adequate infrastructure for schools, funds for it may not be available".
Dey said: "The government does not have adequate control over private schools to compel them to reserve quota of seats as laid down. We are committed to implementing the positive provisions of the statute."
Teachers will be at the core of implementation of RTE that seeks to work towards a heterogeneous and democratic classroom where all children participate as equal partners. There are 5.7 million teacher posts at primary and upper primary level.
Currently more than 523,000 teacher posts are vacant. To bring the pupil-teacher ratio to 30:1 as prescribed by the RTE Act, 510,000 additional teachers are required.
To ensure 25 per cent reservation for children from disadvantaged and weaker sections, schools will have to disclose the lists of children taken in this category, as well as ensure that diversity is maintained. The model rules already say that the state governments will undertake household surveys and neighbourhood school mapping to ensure that all children are sent to school.
