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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | RTE may prove a game-changer by Julie Mariappan & M Ramya

RTE may prove a game-changer by Julie Mariappan & M Ramya

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published Published on Nov 16, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 16, 2011

Private school admissions may soon see a sweeping change if the government has its way after notifying rules under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. While the government plans to ensure 25% reservation for underprivileged children by assigning officials to closely monitor the admission process in all schools, including unaided private institutions, a proposal to impose a firstcome-first-served rule may do away with preferential admissions across the board. 

Talking to TOI on Wednesday, school education minister C Ve Shanmugham said, "The school management committee will be empowered to oversee the admission process in government and aided schools, while school education officials will ensure that private unaided schools follow the RTE rules, particularly the 25% reservation for children from disadvantaged and weaker sections of society." 

Sources in the school education department said the government was thinking of asking schools to completely do away with the interview process. "Schools say there is a lot of pressure on them to admit children as thousands line up for a few hundreds of seats. As the RTE Act says that neither children nor their parents should be screened for admission, we are considering a first-come-first-served criterion to admit children," a senior official said. 

Whether the schools agree to that or not, admissions are going to be on the government's radar. The RTE Act says that every government and aided school should constitute a nine-member school management committee, in which 75% of the members are parents or guardians of children and the remaining 25% will comprise teachers, local authorities and educationists in equal numbers. For private unaided schools, the competent authority will include the joint director of elementary education, matriculation schools or school education, and the chief educational officer of the district. 

The minister said chief minister J Jayalalithaa had taken the implementation of the RTE Act very seriously. "She was responsible for changing the definition of a 'child belonging to disadvantaged group' to include orphans, those affected with HIV, transgenders, and children of scavengers, besides raising the annual income ceiling of parents of a 'child belonging to weaker section' to 2 lakh," he said. 

The school education minister also announced that 55,000 teacher vacancies in the state will be filled before the end of this academic year to ensure that the teacher-pupil ratio is maintained at 1:30 as mentioned in the Act. Tamil Nadu boasts a near 100% enrolment rate and few dropouts or out-of-school children, but the reality is not that perfect. Now that the state has notified the rules of the RTE, it is putting in place systems to ensure that all children get quality education. 

Back to class 

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act came into effect on April 1, 2010 

The RTE Act requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats for children from disadvantaged sections of society It also prohibits unrecognized schools from admitting students and holding classes Collection of donation or capitation fees is prohibited. Also, no child or parent should be interviewed for admission No child shall be expelled or prevented from promotion to the next grade till the elementary level Drop-outs should be given special training and attention Neighbourhood surveys should be undertaken to identify children in need of education and facilities provided for the same She (J Jayalalithaa) was responsible for raising the annual income ceiling of parents of a 'child belonging to weaker section' to 2 lakh.


The Times of India, 17 November, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/-RTE-may-prove-a-game-changer/articleshow/10763642.cms


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