RTE Act (Right to Education)

Why it matters

RTE is not a scheme a private school opts into — meeting its norms is a condition of recognition. A school that screens applicants at entry, collects a capitation fee, or holds a transfer certificate against unpaid dues is exposed both on inspection and in court. The principal owns this; the office owns the evidence — admission register, entry-level admission list, TC issue log and UDISE+ returns.

In practice

• Section 12(1)(c) reserves at least 25% of entry-level seats for children of weaker sections and disadvantaged groups from the neighbourhood; allotment runs under state rules.
• Section 12(2) reimburses the school at per-child state expenditure or the fee actually charged, whichever is lower — that claim file sits with accounts, not academics.
• Section 13 bars capitation fees and any screening of the child or the parents at admission; an entry-level 'interaction' that grades the child is the classic violation.
• Section 5 requires the head-teacher of the previous school to issue a transfer certificate immediately, and a pending TC cannot delay or deny admission elsewhere.
• RTE infrastructure and pupil-teacher norms are the same facts you report annually through UDISE+, so keep one set of numbers, not two.

Common mistakes

• Treating reserved seats as a one-year obligation — the entitlement runs through elementary education, not just the entry class.
• Running an admission 'interaction' that is effectively a screening test for the child or an assessment of the parents.
• Holding a student's records against unpaid fees; the Act separates release of the record from recovery of dues.