Page 177 - DEDU501_DEVELOPMENT_OF_EDUCATION_SYSTEM_ENGLISH

Unit 19: Right to Education Act (2009)

to enroll in school than boys; in 2005, for upper primary school (Grades 6-8) girls' enrolment Notes
was still 8.8 points lower than boys, for Scheduled Tribes (ST) the gender gap was 12.6 points
and 16 points for Scheduled Castes (SC).
In addition, ST and SC children are less likely to access their right to 8 years of schooling; the
drop-out rate for ST children being 62.9% and 55.2% for SC children compared to a national
average of 48.8% leaving school before completing Grade 8.
Teachers: Children have the right to have at least 1 qualified and trained teacher for every 30
pupils. Currently, the national average is about 1 teacher to every 34 students, but in states such
as Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal 1 teacher works with more than 60 students.
Approximately 1.2 million additional teachers need to be recruited to fill this gap. Currently,
about 1 in 5 primary school teachers do not have the requisite minimum academic qualification
to ensure children's right to quality learning.
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, Manipur have separate toilets and one in four schools in Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand and Orissa.
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 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 per cent women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in these committees
should help overcome past disparities.
Self Assessment
2. State whether the following statements are ‘True’ or ‘False’:
(i) Under the RTE act, there is right to take admission of children including girls and
persons belonging to scheduled castes and schedules tribes.
(ii) Children have the right to have atleast qualified and trained teacher for every 50 pupils.
(iii) RTE provides a platform to reach the unreached, with specific provisions for
disadvantaged groups, such as child laborers, migrant children, children with special
needs.
(iv) There is 100% girls enrolled in 8 year schooling under RTE act, 2009.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 171