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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | HRD initiates move to extend RTE till the secondary level by Akshaya Mukul

HRD initiates move to extend RTE till the secondary level by Akshaya Mukul

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published Published on May 29, 2011   modified Modified on May 29, 2011

The HRD ministry has taken the first step towards extending the Right to Education till the secondary level by making it part of the agenda of next month's meeting of state education ministers and the Central Advisory Board of Education.

Sources say the idea of extending RTE is at the stage of infancy but the ministry is keen that the process should begin at right earnest so that it becomes a reality in the next few years. It is likely that this could become UPA-II's big promise before the next elections.

"The process of RTE till upper primary began in 1999. First the Constitution was amended making education a fundamental right. But it could be put in operation only in 2010. It's a long-drawn affair. Work on extension of RTE should also begin," a source said.

It is expected that CABE – the oldest advisory body on education -- and the state education ministers will set up an expert committee to look at various aspects – finance, infrastructure and legal requirement -- for extension of RTE. Already, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, promising free education at the secondary level, is in place. RMSA would become the vehicle for extending RTE till the secondary level. In many European countries, especially those in Scandinavi, the state guarantees 10 years of free school education.

The first requirement for extending RTE till the secondary level would be amending the Constitution. Article 21A – inserted in the Constitution as a fundamental right – guarantees free and compulsory education to children in the age-group of six to 14. The extension would need amendment in the age-group of children who are being guaranteed the right to free and compulsory education. The government would also need to either amend the existing RTE Act or come up with a separate enabling legislation for extension of RTE to the secondary level.

In addition, the government would also have to extend the Mid-Day Meal scheme till the secondary stage. A sub-group of the Sonia Gandhi-ledNational Advisory Council has already suggested that free food be given to children till class X.

The second, most important, requirement would be of finance. It took the full term of UPA-I to commit Rs 2.31 lakh crore for Right to Education. For more than three years a group of ministers in UPA-I debated how to organize resources to make it a success. Extension of RTE would require less financial resources since it would involve about two more years of schooling. "But the investment requirement would be different. Unlike primary and upper-primary, more subject teachers would be needed. There would be need for laboratory, and better library facilities," said one official. He said extension would not mean opening of more schools but adding more classes in the existing ones. The official also pointed out that many state governments are giving tangibles like uniform and textbooks free to students in secondary classes.

The Times of India, 29 May, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/8633106.cms


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