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Sonia-led panel calls for revamp of 'rigid' RTE Act-Ritika Chopra
-Mail Online India

Concerned over the rigidity of some provisions of the Right to Education Act, members of the National Advisory Council (NAC) are working on a report recommending review of the norms and standards laid down for schools under the legislation.

The NAC, led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, has been advising the central government on the effective implementation of the provisions of the RTE Act.

Calling the Act as excessively 'input-driven', NAC members, speaking exclusively to Mail Today, said the law needs to be more realistic. 

The members feel the legislation is too focused on what schools should have in terms of minimum infrastructure and teaching standards, but doesn't exhibit any concern for the quality of students (or output) being produced by the very same institutions.

'The Act is so input-driven and (there is) very little emphasis on output. It makes it compulsory for schools to have a library and a boundary wall, but it's not possible for every school to meet such criteria,' NAC member and social worker Anu Aga said.

'All these things (infrastructure standards) are wonderful, but do not ensure quality education,' she added.

The Act, which was passed in 2009 and came into effect in April 2010, makes free compulsory education a right for every child in the age-group of six to 14 years.

Under this law, a school should have at least one classroom for every teacher, a playground, a boundary wall, a library and fixed pupil-teacher ratio. In case any school does not meet the standards within three years of enactment, the legislation calls for derecognition of the institution and its subsequent closure.

The law has been criticised by experts and educationists in the past as the provisions leave no room for flexibility. According to them, the legislation fails to set any criteria for learning outcomes such as student performance in academics and co-curricular activities.

These concerns are now also being echoed by NAC's working group on the RTE Act, which is led by Aga and is expected to be ready with its recommendations for the central government by the end of this month.

'The working group can also update the Council about its concerns in the next meeting on August 25,' writer and activist Farah Naqvi, who is member of NAC and the working group, said.

Another argument put forth by the council members against the rigid standards under the Act is that it threatens innovative schooling models such as Gyanshala Schools in Ahmedabad. Gyanshala schools are run by an NGO and is meant for outof- school slum children.

They are taught by untrained teachers, who do not have the minimum qualifications and do not adhere to the minimum instructional hours mandated by the RTE Act.

'While we want the government to enable adherence to norms, we also want them to allow the Act to be a little flexible. We don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water. These schools do provide quality education,' NAC member Mirai Chatterjee said.

The NAC report will also include suggestions on ensuring better integration of poor students (admitted under the 25 per cent quota for the economically backward section) with the rest the of class in private schools.

'The unaided schools have started admitting EWS children under the quota but they have absolutely no clue on how to make them feel included. There should either be some guidelines on this or maybe schools should be given a specific sum meant for training their teachers on inclusion practices,' Aga said.