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RTE Act and state of education

The Hindu, 20 December 2010

Several issues pertaining to the Right to Education Act and the state of education and school system were discussed at the second annual School Choice National Conference organised by the Centre for Civil Society in the Capital.

Addressing the conference, Kiran Bhatty, National Coordinator, Right to Education, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), explained that NCPCR was a monitoring agency which was different from the implementing agencies. She said the NCPCR recognised the challenge of grievance redress with regards to RTE and was making efforts to ensure stricter enforcement of the law with cooperation from panchayati and State authorities.

NCPCR is soon launching social audit of the RTE Act, a helpline to ensure grievance redress and promote capacity building of school management committees,” Ms Bhatty said, adding “the Commission was already holding public hearings by summoning appropriate authorities in relation to effective implementation of the Act”.

Vinod Raina, member of the Central Advisory Board for Education, endorsed the need for larger dialogues and discussions with civil society, government agencies and educational service providers to ensure proper implementation of the RTE Act. He urged people to remember that RTE was the fundamental right of the child as opposed to any other stakeholder and that should remain the central focus. Talking about the Act's provision that neighbourhood schools should be built within the next three years, he said he believed that school buildings would be constructed but the real challenge lay in ensuring proper learning within these buildings.

Dr Parth J Shah, president of the Centre for Civil Society, spoke about the challenges of RTE Act implementation and the need for broader discussion and dialogue among stakeholders.

Read the story in The Hindu