Patna: Nalini Juneja of the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) on Monday discussed the challenges faced in implementation of right to education (RTE) in the country. She said there are several discrepancies in implementing RTE at the school level.

Juneja was speaking at a seminar on implementation of Right to Education in India, organised by the post-graduate department of education of Patna University at the Bihar Museum hall.

"We have observed that RTE is not followed at the school level," Juneja said. "Private schools under RTE have to admit 25 per cent of students from economically poor families, but these schools are not following RTE guidelines, which debar these students from availing education in private schools."

Juneja also said: "The worst part of RTE is that government officials who have been assigned the task of implementing RTE are not visiting the schools on regular basis, leaving failure in implementing RTE." The NUEPA professor said private schools should not be for just students from rich families paying high tuition fees. The doors of such schools should be opened to students from underprivileged families too."

The Bihar government has from time to time asked private schools to follow RTE and in this connection issued strict directives too but the private schools have raised their hands in implementing RTE. The per-child reimbursement is very less compared to total expenses incurred by schools in implementing RTE.

"The state government is giving Rs 4,300 per annum to private schools, which is very less as compared to expenses incurred in teaching a student," a private school operator said on condition of anonymity. "We have to pay salaries to teachers and also require funds for developing infrastructure of schools. In such a scenario, if the government fails to provide adequate funds, we are unable to admit students from poor families."

Also speaking on the occasion, Patna University vice-chancellor Rash Bihari Prasad Singh said reforms in education should start at a low level. Singh said that efforts should be made to have uniform education system at the primary level.

"The syllabus of school education should be the same in all states," Singh said. "There should be changes in language and literature but core topics such as science, mathematics should remain same."

The seminar was attended by JP University vice-chancellor Harikesh Singh, Patna University teacher Sudhakar Singh and others.

On the occasion, the teachers also presented papers on Right to Education.