Referring to the Right to Education Act, which makes it mandatory for the private schools to admit a certain number of students from economically weaker sections, Sibal said, "If the rich are getting LPG, petrol at subsidised rates, and if they are getting benefits...So why they can't afford expenses of poor children's education?
"Are they entitled to subsidies (if they are not ready to accept RTE obligations)?" asked the Minister in a seminar here. "If they are getting benefits from the society, they have to perform their duties for the society," he said.
Sibal also said government was keen on modernisation of the education sector, and 400 out of 604 universities and 14,000 colleges in the country are already connected to the National Knowledge Network.
The rest of the universities will be connected within the next six months, he said.
