Mangalore : The department will constitute a committee of experts, academicians and officials to modify the recent decision of the government on minority institution tag with respect to admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act said, Kimmane Ratnakar Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education here.

Speaking to presspersons at District Congress office on June 16, Monday, he said, “The committee would be in place within a 15 days t to look at ways to improve the RTE benefits to students.”

He said that, most of the complaints received on RTE on the table, an expert committee will be formed to chalk out a comprehensive solution.

The decision to reduce the percentage of students belonging to a particular community or language from 75 to 25 was taken after admissions to the current academic year were over. Before the new rule was applicable from the next academic year, the government would suitably modify rules governing admissions under the RTE, Mr. Ratnakar said.

Defending the decision on minority tag, the Minister said that the 75 per cent prescribed by the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party government in July 2012 did not help students. The schools approached the High Court, which stayed the order and asked the government to prescribe suitable yardstick to categorise a minority institution to be eligible to claim exemption under the RTE, he said.

Attributing the spectacular improvement in pass percentage in the recent SSLC and PU results to the service of around 15,000 guest teachers, Mr. Ratnakar said the department was already in the process of recruiting 11,200 teachers.

The remaining 17,000 vacancies in the State would be filled in a phased manner, by recruiting 5,000 teachers every year thereafter, he said.

On following the National Education Policy to be prescribed by the National Council for Education, Research and Training (NCERT), Mr. Ratnakar said the government had to go by the national policy, which is aimed at bringing uniformity in the education sector.

There could be some confusion during the transition phase, which might take about five years, depending on the State concerned, he said.

On the proposal to get free textbooks back from students after the academic year, Mr. Ratnakar said it was not a proposal, but his thought.

“I did not buy new textbooks for at least four subjects as I got them from my elder sisters. It is sad to note that the students were not ready to handover books to juniors in the neighbourhood,” he said.

If books are returned, considerable amount spent on them [about Rs. 120 crore a year  could be saved, he said.