about right to education act..in short

Elementary Education is now a fundamental right of Every Child

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 says that all children between the ages of 6 and 14 will have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighbourhood school. There is no direct cost (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, midday meals, transportation, etc) 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.25% of seats in private schools will be reserved for poor children. The Central and State Government will bear all costs

Through this education has become a Fundamental Right in the constitution of India. From 01-04-2010 this Act comes into effect. This can be called as a great milestone in the history of India.

But around 7 million children in India today hang around our homes and our

neighbourhoods instead of going to school.

there is something you could do and should do.!!!!

The maid’s toddler, the kid who tinkers around at the local garage, the boy who delivers the groceries home, the watchman’ s son, the driver ’s daughter, the newspaper boy who’s always running errands for the society, or the bai’s baby.…..most of the time we aren’t even aware if these children go to a school at all. Nor do we ever bother to find out. Even as they’re growing up into illiterate adults in front of our very eyes.

They should not be seen around your home at all. They should be in school.

Studying, like any normal child is supposed to.

They could all be in school, If only you asked them why or showed them how.

However, the Right to Education Act now asks us to do precisely that. ACT. Ask questions, nag parents and pester kids who hang around our streets to hang around a school instead. And find them the easiest way to do it.

So let’s stop pointing fingers at the authorities for once.

And let’s ask ourselves what we can do for our children.

doubts regarding right to education act

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 will have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighbourhood school. There is no direct cost (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, midday meals, transportation, etc) 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?

Schools will constitute School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising local authority officials, parents, guardians and teachers. The SMCs will form School Development Plans and monitor the utilization of government grants and the whole school environment. RTE also mandates the inclusion of 50% 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 60 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 will be based on the number of students rather than by grade. The state will ensure adequate support to teachers, leading to improved learning for 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?

Central and state governments will share financial responsibility for RTE. The central government will 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 will 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 organizations and citizens of the country.

What are the key issues for achieving RTE?

RTE has been notified by the central government on April 1, 2010. Model rules for states have already been finalized while those for the Union territories are in an advanced stage. 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 economic, 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 in 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 will 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 April 1. 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 of offences requires the sanction of an officer authorized by the appropriate government.

How does RTE translate into action and become a reality?

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.

Right to Education Fact Sheet

INTRODUCTION

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 out-of-school children in the age group of 6 to 14 in India out-of-school in 2009. The world cannot reach its goal to have every child complete primary school by 2015 without India.

India's education system over the past few decades has made significant progress. According to India's Education For All Mid-Decade Assessment, in just five years between 2000 and 2005, India increased primary school enrolment overall by 13.7% and by 19.8% for girls, reaching close to universal enrolment in Grade 1. Even with these commendable efforts, one in four children left school before reaching Grade 5 and almost half before reaching Grade 8 in 2005. Learning assessments show that the children who do remain in school are not learning the basics of literacy and numeracy or the additional skills necessary for their overall development.

FAST FACTS

Out-of-School Children: The number of out-of-school children has declined from 25 million in 2003 to 8.1 million in mid-2009. The most significant improvements have been in Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Chhattisgarh. The percentage of out-of-school children in highly populated states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar remains a cause of concern.

Access: There has been tremendous progress in improving access with 99% of habitations having a primary school within one kilometre, and 92% with an upper primary school within three kilometres. While access and enrolment to primary schools are good, upper primary access and participation remain challenges.

Social Inclusion: There have been significant improvements in the proportion of children from socially disadvantaged groups enrolled in school. For Scheduled Caste (SC) students, 19.7% were enrolled in 2008-2009, with 11% enrolled for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students. This is greater than their share of the population as a whole (16.2% for SCs and 8.2% for STs). The proportion of ST children at upper primary level is much lower, which indicates that ST children are more vulnerable to dropping out of the school system.

Sanitation: 84 out of 100 schools have drinking water facilities overall in India. But nearly half the schools in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya do not. Sixty-five out of 100 schools have common toilets in India; however only one out of four schools in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Orissa and Rajasthan have this facility. Fifty-four out of 100 schools have separate toilets for girls. On average, only one in nine schools in Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur have separate toilets as have one in four schools in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand and Orissa.

KEY ISSUES

The RTE Act has come into force from April 1, 2010. 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, economic, 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 in the next five years and to reinforce the skills of existing teachers to ensure child-friendly education. 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. Substantial efforts are essential to eliminate disparities and ensure quality with equity. For example, investing in preschool is a key strategy.

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. School Management Committees, made up of parents, local authorities, teachers and children themselves, will need support to form School Development Plans and monitoring. The inclusion of 50 % women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in these committees should help overcome past disparities.

UNICEF ACTION

India's past achievements in education indicate it is possible to reach the goals set forth in RTE. Building on the achievements of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Unicef will continue to work with the government and other partners at community, state and national levels to promote child-friendly schools and systems across the country through RTE.

Unicef is committed to ensuring that all children have access to quality education and complete their schooling. Unicef works with its partners to improve children's developmental readiness to start primary school on time, especially for marginalized children. Technical support on education quality, school retention and achievement rates is also given. Unicef is also working to reduce gender and other disparities to increase access and completion of quality basic education. In emergencies, Unicef helps to restore education to affected populations.