New Delhi : Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal on Feb 20 said he will try to build a consensus among all states to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act from April 1. He also stressed that the government is and will be strictly against commercialisation of education.

"Our aim is to ensure that all children in India get quality education, but we are against commercialisation of education. Incessant hike of fee and overcharging from parents is something we do not support," Sibal told reporters here.

In order to implement the RTE Act in its true spirit, the minister said, he will hold meetings with various state governments. "I will talk to every state government on issues regarding implementation of the RTE Act from April 1. I will be meeting Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit regarding the same," he said.

Sibal said implementation of certain provisions of the act might be difficult and, hence, it was important to meet various state heads and discuss the same. "For example, the RTE Act says that schools should have playgrounds. In schools in urban areas, there may not be enough space for a playground. The RTE also says that there should be a 25 per cent reservation in private schools for poor kids, but do the states have the data and information about who these kids will be?" Sibal said.

The minister said the aim of the RTE Act was not to further sideline poor and marginalised children. Therefore, shutting down of unrecognised, neighbourhood schools was not an option, he said.

"We don't want to close down marginalised, unrecognised schools for poor kids because our aim is not to marginalise these kids any more. In fact, these schools should be protected. We will, therefore, encourage them to implement the guidelines of the RTE Act and will give them three years' time to do so," Sibal said.