Vijaya Krishnan, Collector of the Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday, March 16, held a review meeting with the management of all the private schools for effective implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Along with the private schools' management members from Bapatla and Parchur divisions, Joint Collector K Srinivasulu and District Education Officer Ramarao were present at the meeting.

Krishnan said that as per the RTE Act, private educational institutions should allot 25 per cent of the seats to students from economically backward sections, including those from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC) and minority categories without fail. She also emphasised that these students should be provided free education, as mentioned in a report by The New Indian Express.

The collector also instructed the management members to set up display boards at their school premises, without fail, to increase awareness among the students and parents about the RTE Act. She also asked them to set up a help desk centre to address issues of students.

Along with the curriculum, Krishnan highlighted that value-based education and discipline should be inculcated into students' daily activities in order to make them responsible citizens. She added that awareness of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act should be increased among students and special measures should be taken to prevent assaults of any kind on the young ones, as per TNIE.