Noida: Four months after UP govt released around Rs 15 crore for reimbursement of school fees of children admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, payments for nearly 15,000 students enrolled in more than 450 private schools across the district are still pending.Officials told TOI that reimbursement for the 2026-27 academic session, of which around Rs 7.5 crore is meant for students and the remaining amount for schools, has not yet been disbursed. The delay has left parents, many of whom are daily wagers and workers in the informal sector, struggling to meet education-related expenses even as the academic session is well underway.Under the RTE Act, 25% of seats in private schools are reserved for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections. Section 12(1)(c) entitles students to receive financial assistance of Rs 5,000 specifically for purchasing two sets of uniforms, textbooks, workbooks, stationery, and school bags. The funds are transferred directly via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the Aadhaar-linked bank account of the child’s parent or guardian. Additionally, the govt provides Rs 450 per student to schools every month for managing educational expenses under the RTE scheme.According to officials, the delay was primarily due to the documentation and verification process, with several schools failing to submit details of students enrolled under the RTE quota within the stipulated deadline. The department had earlier issued a notice directing schools to submit the required student details by July 10 this year so that the claims could be verified and the reimbursement process completed.Officials said the information submitted by schools had to be checked against the eligible beneficiaries before the funds could be transferred. “The delay in receiving complete data from schools consequently slowed down the process of processing and releasing the reimbursement amount,” said a senior official.On Thursday, BEO Rahul Panwar told TOI that the district magistrate has already signed the file and the money was expected to be released within one week. “The department has completed the required formalities for releasing the funds and payments would be made to both eligible students and private schools once the transfer process was initiated,” he said.Parents, meanwhile, said they were struggling to arrange money for books, notebooks and other school requirements by borrowing from relatives, neighbours and others. “I have been making rounds of the department for months, asking when the money will arrive. No one tells us anything. The session has already started, and other kids in the school already have books and stationery,” said Abhishek Kumar, an autorickshaw driver, whose son studies at a private school in Noida under RTE.Rekha, a parent from Greater Noida who works as a domestic help, said she had to borrow money to buy notebooks and books for her child. “I have to repay that loan. If the reimbursement is delayed for months, it becomes very difficult for families like ours,” she said.Schools, too, said they were feeling the strain. “Schools have regular expenses, including staff salaries, electricity, maintenance and teaching materials. If RTE reimbursements are delayed, we have to bear these costs from our own funds, which puts considerable financial pressure on smaller schools,” said a private school representative.
