Rules & Regulations

The Right to Education Act 2009, also known as the RTE Act 2009, was enacted by the Parliament of India on 4 August 2009. It describes modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children aged between 6-14 years in India under Article 21 (A) of the Constitution of India. This act came into effect on 1 April 2010 and made India one of the 135 countries to have made education a fundamental right for every child. It prescribes minimum norms for elementary schools, prohibits unrecognised schools from practice and advocates against donation fees and interviews of children at the time of admission. The Right to Education Act keeps a check on all neighbourhoods through regular surveys and identifies children who are eligible for receiving education but do not have the means to.

Educational challenges have been prevalent at both the centre and states for many years in India. The Right to Education Act 2009 maps out roles and responsibilities for the centre, state and all local bodies to rectify gaps in their education system in order to enhance the quality of education in the country.

 

 

1. Compulsory and free education for all

It is obligatory for the Government to provide free and compulsory elementary education to each and every child, in a neighbourhood school within 1 km, up to class 8 in India. No child is liable to pay fees or any other charges that may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. Free education also includes the provisions of textbooks, uniforms, stationery items and special educational material for children with disabilities in order to reduce the burden of school expenses.

2. The benchmark mandate

The Right to Education Act lays down norms and standards relating to Pupil-Teacher-Ratios (number of children per teacher), classrooms, separate toilets for girls and boys, drinking water facility, number of school-working days, working hours of teachers, etc. Each and every elementary school (Primary school + Middle School) in India has to comply with these set of norms to maintain a minimum standard set by the Right to Education Act.

 

3. Special provisions for special cases

The Right to Education Act mandates that an out of school child should be admitted to an age appropriate class and provided with special training to enable the child to come up to age appropriate learning level.

4. Quantity and quality of teachers

The Right to Education Act provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified Pupil-Teacher-Ratio is maintained in every school with no urban-rural imbalance whatsoever. It also mandates appointing appropriately trained teachers i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

In 2018, Oxfam India analysed the nine year progress of the Right to Education Act since its enactment in 2009. The observations highlighted significant lack of allocation of resources to education in general and elementary schools. This was far from satisfactory and needed immediate amends in order to improve overall learning outcomes of children. Oxfam India in its policy brief recommended seven ways to address this problem.

5. Zero tolerance against discrimination and harassment

The Right to Education Act 2009 prohibits all kinds of physical punishment and mental harassment, discrimination based on gender, caste, class and religion, screening procedures for admission of children capitation fee, private tuition centres, and functioning of unrecognised schools.

 

6. Ensuring all round development of children

The Right to Education Act 2009 provides for development of curriculum, which would ensure the all-round development of every child. Build a child’s knowledge, human potential and talent.

 

7. Improving learning outcomes to minimise detention

The Right to Education Act mandates that no child can be held back or expelled from school till Class 8. To improve performances of children in schools, the Right to Education Act introduced the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system in 2009 to ensure grade appropriate learning outcomes in schools. Another reason why this system was initiated was to evaluate every aspect of the child during their time in school so that gaps could be identified and worked on well in time.

8. Monitoring compliance of RTE norms

School Management Committees (SMCs) play a crucial role in strengthening participatory democracy and governance in elementary education. All schools covered under the Right to Education Act 2009 are obligated to constitute a School Management Committee comprising of a head teacher, local elected representative, parents, community members etc. The committees have been empowered to monitor the functioning of schools and to prepare school development plan.

Since 2015, Lokmitra and Oxfam India have been working in 30 government schools in three blocks — Rahi, Salon and Raebareli Municipality of Raebareli district, Uttar Pradesh. They have been working towards ensuring proper implementation of the RTE Act 2009, increasing student retention, and increased community participation in monitoring and management of schools. Lokmitra’s innovative participatory pedagogy methods and involvement of parents through SMCs at the block and district level have shown positive results. Regular trainings and meetings have empowered these SMCs to monitor and manage the schools better and advocate for its improvement.

9. Right to Education Act is justiciable

The Right to Education Act is justiciable and is backed by a Grievance Redressal (GR) mechanism that allows people to take action against non-compliance of provisions of the Right to Education Act 2009.

To ensure all schools follow this mandate, Oxfam India in collaboration with JOSH filed a complaint at the Central Information Commission (CIC) in 2011 evoking Section 4 of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) 2005. Section 4 of the RTI Act is a proactive disclosure section mandating all public authorities to share information with citizens about their functioning. Since schools are public authorities, compliance to Section 4 was demanded.

10. Creating inclusive spaces for all

The Right to Education Act 2009 mandates for all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children belonging to socially disadvantaged and economically weaker sections. This provision of the Act is aimed at boosting social inclusion to provide for a more just and equal nation.