MUMBAI, March 20 -- The state government owes as much as Rs.2,930 crore to private, unaided schools that admit students under the Right to Education quota, over the last ten years. The money is a fee reimbursement for educating children from economically weaker sections under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). Accordingly, 25% of seats is set aside in private, unaided schools for this purpose. According to the school education department, the government spends Rs.17,670 per student under the RTE quota. The arrears came to light in the state legislative council on Wednesday, when school education minister Dada Bhuse submitted a written reply to a calling attention motion by NCP member Amol Mitkari. In his reply, Bhuse admitted that a funds crunch had led to the outstanding arrears. But, he insisted, no eligible student will be deprived of admission due to the pending reimbursement issue. Under RTE provisions, 60% of funds for fee reimbursement is allocated by the central government and 40% from the state government. "The government distributed reimbursement of Rs.1,727 crore by the end of 2025-26 to schools that provide 25% admission to children from disadvantaged and weaker sections. However, since the outstanding amount continues to rise each year, fee reimbursements of Rs.2,930 crore is pending as of today," he said in his reply. "For the financial year 2025-26, a provision of Rs.200 crore had been made in the budget for the reimbursement of educational fees under the RTE 25% provision. Accordingly, a total of Rs.140 crore has been distributed for fee reimbursements so far, during this financial year," according to Bhuse's reply. The minister attributed the outstanding sum to limited financial provisions from both the central and state governments. He said discussions will be held with the state finance and planning department, and the matter will also be placed before the chief minister to work out a solution. Bhuse told the house that around 8,699 schools are registered under the RTE admission process in the state, setting aside 0.11 million seats for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. So far, the government has received 0.22 million applications for admissions under the quota. The deadline for submitting applications has been extended till March 25, he said. Meanwhile, privates schools say pending reimbursements are adversely impacting these institutions. SC Kedia, honorary secretary of the Unaided Schools Forum (USF) of Maharashtra, said, "Every school that provides 25% seats under RTE suffers due to pending dues as it amounts to a few lakh rupees for each institution. The resultant funds shortage means schools are not able to modernise their teaching methods and infrastructure. It also affects the salary structure of teaching staff." The issue of pending dues has led to frequent confrontations between the state government and private schools. While private schools tend to avoid admitting students under the RTE quota, they have been at the receiving end f notices from the state government....