The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

In August 2009, Parliament passed the historic Right of Children to Free and  Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The new law must be seen from the  perspective of children. It provides a justiciable legal framework that entitles  all children between the ages of 6-14 years to an education of reasonable 

quality, based on principles of equity and non-discrimination. It provides for children’s right to free and compulsory admission, attendance and completion  of elementary education. More importantly, it provides for the child’s right to  education that is free from fear, stress and anxiety. There are several provisions in the Act, including for example, provisions prohibiting corporal  punishment, detention and expulsion which need to be fore-fronted to ensure  that we move towards a system that, as the National Policy on Education 

states, provides ‘a warm, welcoming and encouraging approach for children  to learn’ (NPE, 1986/92). The most important aspect, however, is to ensure  that the teaching-learning process is free from stress and anxiety (Sec. 29),  with obvious implications for curricular reform. Testing and school grading 

systems need to be reviewed to motivate children to deepen and widen their  learning. The RTE Act also lays down the responsibilities of teachers. Teacher  accountability systems would need to ensure that children are learning and that  their right to learning in an environment that is free from stress and anxiety is not violeted.

The RTE Act provides for: 

(i) The right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. 

(ii) It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure  compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary  education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means  that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary  education. 3 

(iii) It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class. 

(iv) It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

(v) It lays down the norms and standards relating to, inter alia, Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school working days, teacher working hours. 

(vi) It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that th

The Situation of Elementary Education in India

 The Situation of Elementary Education in India

1. Since Independence, India has made impressive progress in terms of growth of educational        institutions at different levels, physical access to schooling forchildren, and diversification of  educational programmes. Today, 18 crore children are taught by almost 57 lakh teachers in more than 12 lakh primary and upper primary schools across the length and breadth of the country.

2. With schematic interventions from the erstwhile Operation Blackboard, Bihar Education Project, Lok Jumbish, District Primary Education Programme, and the Government’s current flagship programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), over 98% of our children are estimated to have access to primary schooling within one kilometer of their habitation, and almost 92% to an upper primary school within three kilometers of their habitation. Gross enrolment ratios have increased significantly across all social categories, drop out rates at primary level have declined, and transition from primary to upper primary stage has improved. Decentralised academic support structures have been

established in the form of District Institutes for Education and Training (DIETs) in 571 districts, and Resource Centres in 6746 blocks and 70388 clusters in the country. Over 12 crore children participate in the Mid Day Meal programme, the world’s largest school feeding programme, which impacts not only enrollment of children, but also their regular attendance in school and

participation in the learning process.

3. This notable spatial spread and physical access has, however, by and large not been supported by satisfactory curricular interventions, including teaching learning materials, training designs, assessment systems and classroom practices, or even suitable infrastructure. “Our Constitution fathers did not intend that we just set up hovels, put students there, give untrained teachers,

give them bad textbooks, no playgrounds and say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary education is expanding…They meant that real education should be given to our children between the ages of 6 and 14” Physical expansion has also not adequately addressed the problem of social

access. An alarming 46 per cent children, largely girls and SC/ST children drop out before completing the elementary stage of education. The country’s expectations in respect of overall coverage, equitable distribution and quality of education have largely not been fulfilled.

4. The education system does not function in isolation from the society of which it is a part. Our social system is stratified into manifold layers based on class, caste, gender, and religion. Unequal social, economic and power equations, which persist, deeply influence children’s access to education and their participation in the learning process. This is evident in the disparities in education access and attainment between different social and economic groups. Thus, girls belonging to SC, ST and Muslim minority communities,  and children with disabilities, especially those from poor families, are 
educationally most vulnerable. 

5. Even as the education system seeks to reach out to every child by widening  access and providing school infrastructure and teachers, the issue of quality  presents daunting challenges. Indian education system is known for its  inequitable character – there are high fee charging schools catering to the rich  and privileged and ordinary government schools with extremely insufficient 

facilities to which the masses of people living in rural area and urban slums  send their children. There is a range of government and private schools  between these extremes. Time has come to make a decisive intervention to  change this situation so that all children irrespective of their religion, caste,  class, gender and location get an education of comparable quality.