Tomorrow India Makes Education a Right

Posted by Fausto Aarya De Santis on March 31, 2010 under News | Be the First to Comment

In an unprecedented move, PM Manmohan Singh will address the nation on the historic Right to Education Act on April 1, the day the law comes into effect. It is for the first time in independent India that any PM will address the nation on a specific law.

Right to education as a fundamental right was brought about through the 86th Amendment in 2002 by inserting Article 21A in the Constitution. Importantly, the Prime Minister’s decision to speak to a country-wide audience on RTE comes a day after the setting up of the National Advisory Council under Sonia Gandhi.

HRD ministry has put in place all the necessary legal requirements needed under the RTE Act. The model rules have been sent to the state governments while central rules for Union Territories without assemblies — Chandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Lakshwadeep, and Daman & Diu — will get finalised on Wednesday after being vetted by the law ministry. Many state governments have also begun the process of adapting/adopting model rules as state rules.

The HRD ministry has also notified NCERT as the academic authority for the curriculum and the National Council for Teacher Education as the academic authority that will lay down the minimum qualification for teachers. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights will soon set up a monitoring cell for the RTE Act. Each state has also been asked to set up a State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR). Till this is done the states have been asked to set up Right to Education Protection Authority. Karnataka, Sikkim, Delhi and Maharashtra have already set up their SCPCR.

HRD has also decided to ensure that age appropriate admissions are given by schools as well as mapping of neighbourhood schools is done. Reservation of 25% to underprivileged children in the neighbourhood might not be possible this year as school admission in many states had nearly got over by the time notification of RTE and Article 21A was made.

by Vrinda Dar