The state government will bear the basic tuition fees of children coming from economically weaker section (EWS) and taking admission in private schools.

Though the government is still deciding on the details of the reimbursement but according to the highly placed source in the ministry of education at the Delhi government, the amount will be between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 per child. A formal announcement will be made within next few days.

After the implementation of the RTE act, private schools will have to reserve 25 percent seats for children from economically weaker section.

The private schools which have received land at subsidised rate from the state government are already reserving 15 percent seats for economically poor kids. The government funds will only be given for additional 10 percent EWS students. For the rest, schools will have to spend from their own pockets. And those which have not received land will receive reimbursement for the entire quota.

Unaided private schools, in December, had indicated that the financial burden of implementing 25 percent quota will be passed on to other students. But the sources said that the education department “will not allow any school to hike fees in the name of EWS quota”.

Many schools had complained of extra burden, but the data available at the department of education, Delhi government, shows that out of the total approximately 2,500 private schools, there are only 500 such schools which have tuition fee more than Rs 1,200 per month. And only 300 schools have tuition fee more than Rs 1,500.

“Only 300 schools, which will have to pay the rest amount from their pockets, might have problem. But most of these schools are on government land,” the source at the ministry said. He added, “For schools like Sanskriti, which has tuition around Rs 2,700 they will have to spend approximately Rs two lakh a year, which I don’t think is difficult for them.”

Most schools are likely to rely on the lottery system for admitting students from the economically weaker sections. To ensure transparency during the process, the source said, a government representative will be present at the time of the lottery.