Right To Education ACT, 2009

AND SSA FRAMEWORK

BACKGROUND

Due to efforts of Dadabhai Naoroji and Jyothiba Phule,

Hunter Commission (1882) : recommended that schools

should be open to all.

The first law on education introduced by the State of Baroda in 1906,

provided for compulsory education for boys and girls in the age groups

of 7–12 years and 7–10 years respectively.

The word ‘right’ in the context of elementary education by Tagore

used in his letter to the International League for the Rational

Education of Children in 1908

BACKGROUND…..

• Mahatma Gandhi gave a magnificent call for universal education in 1937 with concept of Basic Education

• Education was included in the Directive Principles of State Policy, in the Constitution of India in 1950

• Article 45 : Stating for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years (1950)

BACKGROUND……

• Kothari Commission(1964) with concept of common school system

• NPE (1968 & 1986) recommended for equalization of educational opportunity and common school system

• The Supreme Court Judgment (1993) to make Education as Fundamental Right

• 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) was passed by Parliament and Article 21A

BACKGROUND……

• August 2009, Parliament passed the historic Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009

• Came into effect from April 1, 2010

• Free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years

• Bordia Committee (2010): Implementation of RTE Act and Resultant Revamp of SSA

WHAT DOES RtE PROVIDE?

• Elementary Education

• Free

• Compulsory

• Quality norms for all schools

• Qualification and working norms for Teachers

• Curriculum in consonance with Constitutional Values

• Oppression Free students’ evaluation system

• Participation of civil society in the management of schools

• Accountability of teachers to parents, community

WHAT DOES RtE PROVIDE?

• Reservation (25%) for children from weaker sections in private schools

• Protection of children from labour, marriage, exploitation, discrimination, abuse, violence and neglect

• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs): Monitor the implementation of the right.

Implementation of RTE Act and Resultant Revamp of

SSA: Bordia committee (2010)

• Principles:

• Holistic view of education: curriculum, teacher education, educational planning and management as interpreted in NCF, 2005

• Equity: Creating the condition so that disadvantaged, SC, ST, Minority and other section of the society can avail equal opportunity

Implementation of RTE Act and Resultant Revamp of SSA: Bordia committee (2010)

• Access: ensuring schools in specified distance,

understanding educational needs and predicaments of the excluded sections viz; Sc, ST, Minority, Girls etc.

• Moral compulsion: imposed on parents, teachers, educational administrators and other stakeholders

• Gender concern: Not only enabling girls to keep pace with boys but also to bring about a basic change in the status of women

IMPLEMENTING RTE ACT IN ODISHA

• Odisha-2nd state after Sikkim to notify the RCFCE Rules, 2010

• Prohibition of corporal punishment in Schools-Sept 23, 2010

• Prohibition of screening procedures on 4thy Nov, 2010

• Guidelines for Composition and functions of SMCs in Elementary Schools on 11th Jan, 2011

• RtE Cell has been functioning from OPEPA office and works in close association with all the Directorates of the School and Mass Education Department

IMPLEMENTING RTE ACT IN ODISHA

• Quality School package: across 30 districts ; to emerge as quality schools -infrastructure, curricular and co-curricular components etc.

• Sanitation and Safe Drinking Water: 93% rural schools have safe drinking water and 84 % of rural schools have common toilets

• Government-Civil Societies partnership: consultation with civil society was held on 20th Dec, 2010. Guidance note issued to all districts on taking support from civil society organization in implementing RTE at the district level.

IMPLEMENTING RTE ACT IN ODISHA

• Teachers’ Training: in-service training programme (Samarthya), both content & theme- based modules (NCF; RtE; and CCE);

1,37,836 teachers received training for 20 days out of the targeted 1, 72,892

• Grievance Redressal Cell and School Students’ Helpline: toll-free Helpline no.

GRC - hearing, enquiry, follow-up and redressal of cases from teachers, officers, parents and children.

IMPLEMENTING RTE ACT IN ODISHA

• Monitoring Mechanism: ‘Samiksha’ w.e.f Nov-2010; Indicators under Samiksha -Environment, Curricular Programmes and Co-Curricular Programmes, School-Community Linkage, School Management.

• Documentation of RtE Initiatives: success stories under School students’ helpline documented in booklet ‘sampark’;

all initiatives of S&ME Department in implementation of RTE Act is documented in booklet ‘Sambhav’.

R T E A

Challenges ahead for India

State Governments' Apathy:

Lack of Promptness / Commitment

Poor economic conditions of the States

Availability of Infrastructure Facilities:

Establishment of Primary Schools within one

kilometer and upper Primary Schools within three

kilometer distance.

Well equipped classrooms, library, laboratory,

play ground, drinking water and toilet facilities.

Challenges Ahead :

Availability of Teachers and Required Pupil-Teacher Ratio:

• Five lakhs new teachers are to be recruited and 5 lakhs new

classrooms are to be constructed to meet the required 30 : 1

pupil teacher ratio.

• There are seven lakhs teachers in the recognized 13 lakhs

primary schools. Out of these, three lakhs teachers are either

untrained or under-training.

• In many states large number of teachers are para -teachers and

many of them are untrained.

As per a recent report by NUEPA, Bihar tops amongst

the states having poor pupil-teacher ratio and Uttar

Pradesh comes at second place.

In about 35 percent primary schools in Uttar Pradesh,

pupil teacher ratio is 60:1. Fifty one percent primary

schools in Uttar Pradesh are having three or less

number of teachers. Out of these, 38 percent are para-

teachers.

In the present circumstances, to maintain pupil-teacher

ratio as per the Act, appears a distant dream.

Quality of Education:

Quality of education depends upon the quality of

teachers. Teachers' selection and training procedure

and their conditions of work need a substantial

improvement.

Teachers' accountability to the pupils, their parents, the

community and to their own profession needs to be

determined

Twenty Five Percent Reservation of Seats in Private

Schools:

How will be the identification, selection and verification

of economically weaker and disadvantaged children

done ?

Would they be selected from the neighborhood or from

the entire village / town / city?

How will the whole process be monitored by the

government?

Recommendations / Suggestions:

Following suggestions may be helpful to meet the challenges:

The state governments are required to promptly implement the

RTE Act. If a time limit to release funds to the states be imposed

by the Central Government and if any state government still

shows apathy to release notification, then no funds should be

released by the Centre to that state for the establishment of new

schools.

State governments should show full commitment for the

implementation of the Act.

Primary schools with all minimum required infrastructure

facilities should be established in the neglected areas on

priority basis. Central government should release its

share of budget to the states at the earliest. Facilities in

the existing government schools should be expanded.

To avoid the closure of unrecognized private schools for

not fulfilling the prescribed recognition standards within

three years, these schools must be helped to improve

their facilities by resource support and providing

linkages with financial institutions.

To meet budgetary constraints, stress must be given on

cost effectiveness and accountability at every level.

The teachers in required number must be recruited at

the earliest and pupil-teacher ratio be maintained as

required.

As more and more children move into the primary

school age group, it is needful to build more schools

and recruit more teachers for sustained improvement in

the quality of education.

Primary schools need to be made aware of the

provisions made for 25 percent reservation of seats for

the economically and socially weaker and

disadvantaged children and the role of school managing

committees in this regard.

The identification, selection and verification procedure

of such children should be well defined and well

informed. How the whole process will be monitored

should also be notified.

While the Central and State Governments have their full

share of responsibilities, it is community participation and

involvement of NGOs which will make marked difference

in implementing Right to Education Act.

To achieve the goals, it is of upmost importance to

develop curricula that is responsive to changing needs

and facilitates the incorporation and integration of new

content areas related to science, technology, population

and the environment.

To implement Right to Education Act, make all efforts with

dedication and commitment. The governments and the

nation as a whole should take responsibility in this regard.

Community participation and support are needed for

greater coordination amongst different agencies and

functionaries involved in this task. To overcome population

pressures and budgetary constraints, cost effectiveness

and accountability must be ascertained at every level.

Efforts should be focused on qualitative improvement of the

whole programme

With Thanks