Right to Education Act

December 2002

86th Amendment Act (2002) via Article 21A (Part III) seeks to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group 6-14 years.

October 2003

A first draft of the legislation envisaged in the above Article, viz., Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill, 2003, was prepared and posted on this website in October, 2003, inviting comments and suggestions from the public at large.

2004

Subsequently, taking into account the suggestions received on this draft, a revised draft of the Bill entitled Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2004, was prepared and posted on the http://education.nic.in website.

June 2005

The CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) committee drafted the ‘Right to Education’ Bill and submitted to the Ministry of HRD. MHRD sent it to NAC where Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson. NAC sent the Bill to PM for his observation.

14th July 2006

The finance committee and planning commission rejected the Bill citing the lack of funds and a Model bill was sent to states for the making necessary arrangements. (Post-86th amendment, States had already cited lack of funds at State level)

19th July 2006

CACL, SAFE, NAFRE, CABE invited ILP and other organizations for a Planning meeting to discuss the impact of the Parliament action, initiate advocacy actions and set directions on what needs to be done at the district and village levels.

Why is the act significant and what does it mean for India?

The passing of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 marks a historic moment for the children of India.

This Act serves as a building block to ensure that every child has his or her right (as an entitlement) to get a quality elementary education, and that the State, with the help of families and communities, fulfils this obligation.

Few countries in the world have such a national provision to ensure both free and child-centred, child-friendly education.

What is ‘Free and Compulsory Elementary Education’?

All children between the ages of 6 and 14 shall have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighborhood school.

There is no direct (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, mid-day meals, transportation) to be borne by the child or the parents to obtain elementary education. The government will provide schooling free-of-cost until a child’s elementary education is completed.

What is the role envisaged for the community and parents to ensure RTE?

The landmark passing of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 marks a historic moment for the children of India. For the first time in India’s history, children will be guaranteed their right to quality elementary education by the state with the help of families and communities.

Few countries in the world have such a national provision to ensure child-centered, child-friendly education to help all children develop to their fullest potential. There were an estimated eight million six to 14 year-olds in India out-of-school in 2009. The world cannot reach its goal to have every child complete primary school by 2015 without India.

Schools shall constitute School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising local authority officials, parents, guardians and teachers. The SMCs shall form School Development Plans and monitor the utilization of government grants and the whole school environment.

RTE also mandates the inclusion of 50 per cent women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in SMCs. Such community participation will be crucial to ensuring a child friendly “whole school” environment through separate toilet facilities for girls and boys and adequate attention to health, water, sanitation and hygiene issues.

How does RTE promote Child-Friendly Schools?

All schools must comply with infrastructure and teacher norms for an effective learning environment. Two trained teachers will be provided for every sixty students at the primary level.

Teachers are required to attend school regularly and punctually, complete curriculum instruction, assess learning abilities and hold regular parent-teacher meetings. The number of teachers shall be based on the number of students rather than by grade.

The state shall ensure adequate support to teachers leading to improved learning outcomes of children. The community and civil society will have an important role to play in collaboration with the SMCs to ensure school quality with equity. The state will provide the policy framework and create an enabling environment to ensure RTE becomes a reality for every child.

How will RTE be financed and implemented in India?

This Act serves as a building block to ensure that every child has his or her right (as an entitlement) to get a quality elementary education, and that the State, with the help of families and communities, fulfils this obligation.

Few countries in the world have such a national provision to ensure both free and child-centred, child-friendly education.

Central and state governments shall share financial responsibility for RTE. The central government shall prepare estimates of expenditures. State governments will be provided a percentage of these costs.

The central government may request the Finance Commission to consider providing additional resources to a state in order to carry out the provisions of RTE.

The state government shall be responsible for providing the remaining funds needed to implement. There will be a funding gap which needs to be supported by partners from civil society, development agencies, corporate organisations and citizens of the country.

What are the key issues for achieving RTE?

The RTE Act will be in force from 1 April. Draft Model Rules have been shared with states, which are required to formulate their state rules and have them notified as early as possible.

RTE provides a ripe platform to reach the unreached, with specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a “disadvantage owing to social, cultural economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or such other factor.” RTE focuses on the quality of teaching and learning, which requires accelerated efforts and substantial reforms:

• Creative and sustained initiatives are crucial to train more than one million new and untrained teachers within the next five years and to reinforce the skills of in-service teachers to ensure child-friendly education.
• Families and communities also have a large role to play to ensure child-friendly education for each and every one of the estimated 190 million girls and boys in India who should be in elementary school today.
• Disparities must be eliminated to assure quality with equity. Investing in preschool is a key strategy in meeting goals.
• Bringing eight million out-of-school children into classes at the age appropriate level with the support to stay in school and succeed poses a major challenge necessitating flexible, innovative approaches.

What is the mechanism available if RTE is violated?

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights shall review the safeguards for rights provided under this Act, investigate complaints and have the powers of a civil court in trying cases.

States should constitute a State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) or the Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA) within six months of 1 April. Any person wishing to file a grievance must submit a written complaint to the local authority.

Appeals will be decided by the SCPCR/REPA. Prosecution f offences requires the sanction of an officer authorised by the appropriate government.

Substantial efforts are essential to eliminate disparities and ensure quality with equity. UNICEF will play an instrumental role in bringing together relevant stakeholders from government, civil society, teachers’ organizations, media and the celebrity world.

UNICEF will mobilize partners to raise public awareness and provide a call to action. Policy and programme design/implementation will focus on improving the access and quality education based on what works to improve results for children. UNICEF will also work with partners to strengthen national and state level monitoring bodies on RTE.

For media queries and more information:

Angela Walker
Chief, Advocacy & Partnerships
Tel: +91-98-1810-6093
E-mail: awalker@unicef.org

Alistair Gretarsson
Communications Specialist (International media)
Tel: +91-98-7153-5586
E-mail: agretarsson@unicef.org

Geetanjali Master
Communications Specialist
Tel: +91-98-1810-5861
E-mail: gmaster@unicef.org

Sonia Sarkar
Communication Officer (Indian media)
Tel: +91-98-1017-0289
E-mail: ssarkar@unicef.org

Source: UNICEF

Six years after an amendment was made in the Indian Constitution, the union cabinet cleared the Right to Education Bill. It is now soon to be tabled in Parliament for approval before it makes a fundamental right of every child to get free and compulsory education.

More than six decades after Independence, the Indian government has cleared the Right to Education Bill that makes free and compulsory education a fundamental right for all children between the ages of 6 and 14.

The Union Cabinet has cleared the long-pending Right to Education Bill, which promises free and compulsory education to every child. The move should provide a much needed boost to the country’s education sector.

Key provisions of the Bill include: 25% reservation in private schools for disadvantaged children from the neighbourhood, at the entry level. The government will reimburse expenditure incurred by schools; no donation or capitation fee on admission; and no interviewing the child or parents as part of the screening process.

The Bill also prohibits physical punishment, expulsion or detention of a child and deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes other than census or election duty and disaster relief. Running a school without recognition will attract penal action.

Observing that it was an important promise to children, as education would become a fundamental right, India’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that it would be the legally enforceable duty of the Centre and the states to provide free and compulsory education.

He added that the human resources ministry would release the text of the Bill after consulting the Election Commission, in view of assembly polls in some states.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) entrusted with the task of scrutinising the Bill cleared the draft legislation early this month without diluting its content, which includes the contentious provision of 25% reservation in private schools at the entry level, for disadvantaged children in the neighbourhood. Some see this as a way of getting the private sector to discharge the State’s constitutional obligation.

The Right to Education Bill is the enabling legislation to notify the 86th constitutional amendment that gives every child between the age of six and 14 the right to free and compulsory education. But it has been 61 years in the making.

In 1937, when Mahatma Gandhi voiced the need for universal education he met with the same stonewalling about cost that dogs the issue today. The Constitution left it as a vague plea to the State to “endeavour to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to age 14”, but access to elementary school still remains elusive today.

It was only in 2002 that education was made a fundamental right in the 86th amendment to the Constitution.

In 2004, the government in power, the NDA, drafted a Bill but lost the elections before it could be introduced. The present UPA’s model Bill was then lobbed back and forth between the Centre and the states over the matter of funding and responsibility.

Critics of the Bill question the age provision. They say children below six years and above 14 should be included. Also, the government has not addressed the issue of shortage of teachers, low skill levels of many teachers, and lack of educational infrastructure in existing schools let alone the new ones that will have to be built and equipped.

The Bill had earlier faced resistance from the law and finance ministries on issues involving the states’ financial contributions. The law ministry expected problems to arise from the 25% reservation, while human resource development ministry estimates put the total cost at Rs 55,000 crore every year.

The Planning Commission expressed its inability to fork out the money; the state governments said they were unwilling to supply even part of the funding. The Centre was thus forced to think of footing the entire bill itself.

The draft Bill aims to provide elementary schools in every neighbourhood within three years – though the word “school” encompasses a whole spectrum of structures.

A set of minimum norms have been worked out as there’s the usual barrier of paperwork in remote rural and poor urban areas. The State is also obliged to tide over any financial compulsions that may keep a child out of school.

“Laws and Bills don’t make children go to school. Initially, there will be problems because while everyone must understand their social responsibility, what matters is whether the right children will have access to this programme. They say the fee component will be given by the government, but it’s not fair to put that cost on others,” says Lata Vaidyanthan, Principal, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.

Still, educationists who’ve rooted for the Bill argue that sharing social responsibility should be seen as a privilege, not a burden.

Source : InfoChange India

Each child to get free uniform, books under RTE

Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 19, 2010, 17:13 IST

Each child from class I to class VIII in the country will be provided free textbooks and uniforms, if a raodmap prepared by the Centre to implement the Right To Education Act (RTE) is accepted by the states.

The roadmap to implement the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was discussed at a meeting of state Education Secretaries recently.

According to the minutes of the meeting,

• Nearly 7.8 lakh additional classrooms and seven lakh girls' toilets will have to be created to implement the new law which has come into force from April 1. The government will spend Rs 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementing the Act.
• Each child will be provided uniforms at Rs 400 per annum. Many states are already providing uniforms from their own budget. "But the uniforms will have to be provided by the state governments. They need to agree to this provision and incorporate it in their rules," a HRD Ministry official said.
• Every child will be provided free textbooks while a child with special need will get Rs 3,000 per annum for inclusive education. Similarly, Rs 10,000 will be given for home-based education for severely disabled children.
• There will be a requirement of additional 5.1 lakh teachers to meet the pupils-teacher ration of 30 for one as per the RTE Act. In UP, there is a requirement for 1.5 lakh teachers, followed by Bihar and Gujarat (0.5 to one lakh each), according to the minutes of the meeting.
• The Rs 1.71 lakh crore will be spent on provision of access, infrastructure, training of untrained teachers and for intervention for out-of school children. The teachers' salary and civil work will have maximum financial requirements of 28 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
• Nearly 17 per cent of the total estimate will be spent on child entitlement, while nine per cent will go to special training for out-of-school children. School facilities will require eight per cent of this money and inclusive education will need six per cent.
• The 7.6 lakh untrained teachers will be provided training in next five years. Maximum number of untrained teachers are in Bihar, Jharkhand and the northeastern states.
• The RTE stipulates barrier-free education for children with special needs and one classroom per teacher. About 7.8 lakh additional classrooms will be required. Majority of these classrooms will be Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (2.5 lakh each) followed by West Bengal (1.3 lakh) and Assam (30,000).
• There are nearly 27,000 'kuchcha' school buildings which will have to be upgraded. Nearly seven lakh toilets for girls will be required, including 90,000 in Bihar, 63,000 in Madhya Pradesh and 54,000 in Orissa. About 3.4 lakh schools will require drinking water facility.

Source: Business Standard