BENGALURU: Under pressure to save government schools from closure, Karnataka may do away with the fee reimbursement scheme implemented under the

and Compulsory Education (

) Act, 2009.

Under RTE, the state government pays the fees of underprivileged students enrolled in private schools under the 25% quota. Karnataka is now mulling to stop reimbursing the amount, leaving private schools to face the burden.

Sources in the

(DPI) said the cabinet would discuss a proposal to relook at the 25% RTE quota in private schools. Arelated law is likely to be passed in the legislature during the next budget session, which would be the last session of the

government. “The government had announced in the 2017-18 budget that a new school education policy would be formulated. The new policy covering all aspects, including RTE, is being prepared,” said P C Jaffer, commissioner of public instruction.

Incidentally, the RTE Act that the Siddaramaiah government is seeking to undermine was enacted by the Congress-led UPA government after extensive consultations.

Declining to get into the details, Jaffer said it is up to the government to take a decision on RTE in the state.

When contacted, minister for primary and secondary education Tanveer Sait confirmed that the government is looking at re-designing RTE with its main focus being strengthening government schools. “There is a belief that private schools are thriving at the cost of government schools. We need to set things right. The policy is almost ready and it will be placed before the next cabinet meeting,” said Tanveer Sait.

Karnataka implemented RTE in 2012. While 1,778 government schools have been closed since then, 3,189 private institutions have come up during the same period.

Taking note of the decline in the fortunes of government schools, the

(KDA) in October submitted a report to the government, urging it to nix RTE.