New Delhi: The Group of Ministers (GoM), formed to look into the Right to Education Bill, met Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh on Tuesday to make some 'minor changes' in the draft of the Bill which was sent to the Union Cabinet in August this year.

The GoM asked the HRD Minister to clearly define the local authority mentioned in the Bill and also mention the central notifications that would be issued.

A source from the HRD Ministry said, "The GoM had a successful first meeting at the HRD Minister's residence. The Bill will be modified by the Ministry and would most likely be tabled in the Parliament session scheduled on October 17".

The Constitutional Right to Education for children in the age group of 6-14 is still awaiting a legal stamp even after 4 years of its proposal.

The Union Cabinet had referred the matter to the GoM on August 8, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh making it clear that the law be passed within the UPA Government's tenure.

The Right to Education Bill ran into controversy twice after facing stiff resistance from the Law and Finance Ministries on issues involving the financial contribution of states.

The HRD ministry had estimated that every year, Rs.55,000 crores would be required to implement the Right to Education law but the Planning Commission had expressed its inability to spare that much money for implementing the proposed law. It was then, the state governments were asked to implement the law.

The state governments, however, expressed their unwillingness to fund the project in the present format. This forced the Centre to think over footing the entire financial burden on itself.

The Right to Education Bill aims at setting minimum standards for both public and private schools so that the quality of education improves across the country.

The Bill's most controversial clause makes it compulsory for all private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for poor children. The Centre has however ensured that it will reimburse this cost to the schools.