Bhubaneswar, Dec. 30: The school and mass education department today issued a directive to all private elementary schools across the state to make residents in slum areas aware about the admission procedure for the upcoming academic session in order to sensitise them about norms under the Right to Education Act.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 makes it mandatory for all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of entry-level seats with free and compulsory education for economically weaker sections and socially disadvantaged students between six and 14 years.

According to a recent report published by the state government, at least 212 schools in the capital do not follow norms of the act.

A recent meeting of government officials, promoters of private schools and parents' associations discussed all these issues, following which, the mass education department issued today's directive.

It has also prepared a detailed guideline on reimbursement of tuition fees to help the schools claim the money from the government.

The department has asked all the schools to follow the norms of the act by providing safe drinking water and ramps on the premises.

"All private schools must ensure that the safety of every child in the institution is covered under the purview of various child protection policies," said a department senior official.

According to the official, the schools will have submit details of expenditure on admission per child from the weaker sections and disadvantaged groups through the block development officer concerned in the prescribed format for reimbursement.

During the meeting, members of the parents' association raised the issue of rationalising fee structures of privately-managed schools.

They also requested creating a regulatory board for private schools in the state to control the exorbitant rise in fees from time to time.

The representatives of different educational institutions suggested, on the other hand, relaxation of rules to issue no objection certificates to privately-managed elementary schools.

They demanded five-year cycles for renewal of the no objection certificates instead of the annual renewals, as is prevalent at present.

"The matters regarding relaxation on trained teachers, period of grant of no objection certificates for five years, training of teachers, rationalisation of fees structure and constitution of regulatory board for private schools will be referred to the government for their decision," the official said.