RTE - Features, Hurdles and Solutions for effective implementation

RTE - Features, Hurdles and Solutions for effective implementation

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

– Enacted in 2009,
– Free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution.
– India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.
– It has inserted 21A and 51(k) in constitution.

Features

– The Act promises free and compulsory education to any child in the age-group 6-14.
– It also encompasses mentally and physically challenged children.
– The schools should be within a radius of 1-3 km from where the child lives.
– All government-aided schools have to reserve 25% of their seats for students from economically weak sections (EWS).
– Private schools that are not government-aided also have to reserve 25% of their seats in Class 1 for EWS students; the government will compensate them.
– All government schools will have school management committees, 75% of whose members will be parents or guardians of the children. Fifty per cent of these have to be women.
– State child rights commissions will monitor implementation of the RTE Act in their respective states. All states have to set up state education advisory bodies. School management committees will maintain the records of all children in the age-group 6-14 years and ensure that they are in school.

Hurdles faced in implementation of RTE (Also answers problems in elementary education)

1. Inadequate funds in budget allocation
2. Lack of intent and political will.
3. Some state has no intention of contributing towards implementation of the Act and will depend wholly on the Center.
4. Lack of co-ordination between implementation agencies
5. Child labor
6. Child trafficking
7. High drop out rate (29%)
8. Lack of infrastructure
9. Providing quality education
10. Poor teacher training and shortage of teachers
11. Does not apply to minority institutes
12. High Pupil teacher ratio

What is needed to be done to effectively implement RTE?

– Better rules and regulations by government.
– Widen the group beside 6-14. e.g from 0-18 as Kerala has done.
– Employing quality teachers and better training facilities for them.
– Well-equipped government schools.
– Spread of awareness by school management committees and panchayati raj institutes
– Need to allocate more funds
– Minority institute should come under RTE ambit
– The public private partnership (PPP) model in primary education
– States should give some sort of judicial power to the education department.
– Strict child labor laws
– Co-ordination between implementing institutes