Gary AzavedoMARGAO: “There are a lot of government schools that do not follow the norms prescribed under the Right To Education (RTE) Act, yet these restrictions are imposed since its agenda is to prevent private schools from functioning and eventually kill them,” said Rohan Joshi , associate director of the national independent schools’ association (NISA).Speaking to TOI, Joshi, who is visiting the state upon an invitation by the all-Goa government recognized unaided schools association (AGGRUSA), emphasized that the RTE Act posed a challenge due to the excessive restrictions imposed upon private schools with an excessive focus on the inputs on education rather than the outputs of learning.“The RTE Act is creating more hassles. There are a lot of norms on infrastructure like compound walls and playgrounds of specific sizes rather than the quality of education. If we increase the fees being charged by 400% then RTE norms will be fulfilled but education will become unaffordable. This in turn out to be counter-productive as students will then be refused access to such schools. There is very little focus on the quality of education. The government school students do pathetically and the teachers are the main culprits. But, in these private unaided schools, there is more control exerted by the school owner on the teachers,” he stated.Opining that teachers’ salary ought to be paid as per their performance, Joshi pointed out that the RTE Act mandates that the teachers’ salaries be paid equivalent to the Sixth Pay Commission and that this requirement cannot be met by small budget schools in India, forcing them to shut down.Joshi pointed out that the RTE Act mandates 25% reservation for SC / STs and the government should not impose such reservations on private schools without offering them some reimbursements. He said private schools in Maharashtra haven’t received any reimbursements since the past three years.Speaking on the land regulations that prevent setting up of schools on agricultural land in rural and residential areas, Joshi said that the commercial rates being charged for the utilization of essential utilities such as power and water supply by these unaided schools prove to be a burden on them as the owners of these schools are not permitted to charge fees or make profits. Joshi suggested that these schools be either permitted to legally make profits or allowed to consume the basic utilities by paying domestic rates.