Bhubaneswar, Sept. 24: The school and mass education department has rolled out comprehensive guidelines for private schools in the state to implement the 25 per cent quota for poor students under the Right to Education Act.

Under the act, all private schools are supposed to reserve 25 per cent of the entry-level school admission seats with free and compulsory education for the economically weaker section and socially disadvantaged students in the age group of six to 14 years.

But with no proper guidelines in place, private schools across the state had been ignoring this provision.

On the one hand, most of the schools claim that they do not get any applicants for the seats, while on the other some institutes blame it on the lack of any clear directive from the government.

However, the new directive has clearly indicated that private schools that have taken any government help such as land, furniture, financial aid under the MPLAD or the MLA LAD will not be provided any reimbursement from the state government for admission of students under 25 per cent quota.

Earlier, the state government had announced reimbursement of Rs 9,184 per year per child to schools admitting students under the act. The institutes that admitted students under this category used to claim reimbursement against the quota admissions from the respective district education officers.

These would function as the "neighbourhood schools" for the poor children who stayed within 1km of such institutions.

"If the seats remain vacant due to unavailability of students, schools can admit poor students from habitations situated beyond the neighbourhood distance," the guideline stated.

The guidelines have been sent to collectors of all districts. All private non-minority unaided schools have also been asked to prepare details of their entry-level classes and intake capacity.

They have been asked to submit the details to the district-level education committees after the admission process is over. The schools must also ensure that the intake seats are displayed on their notice boards.

"It is a welcome step by the state government and will go a long way to help many underprivileged students access quality education and better infrastructure under the provisions of the act," said Basudev Bhatta, president of a parents' association.