-The Deccan Herald   Urges all chief ministers to ensure proper implementation of the Act The Centre on Thursday directed the states to ensure that educational institutions falling under the ambit of the Right to Education (RTE) Act adhere to its recommendations. “Implement and monitor admission of children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections u/s 12(1)(c) in all unaided non-Minority Schools,” wrote Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, in a letter to...

Court settles the class issue, but the real challenges of RTE have to be met The debate over the Right to Education is beginning to display characteristic symptoms of Indian debates. Elites are inventing specious arguments to condone the economic apartheid in the current system. But India’s self-appointed anti-elites are often even more elitist. They are more fixated on taking down elites a peg or two rather than intelligently fixing real...

The Supreme Court's recent mandate that private unaided non-Minority Schools should reserve 25 per cent of seats for underprivileged children is being hailed as a landmark ruling. The spirit of the decision is indeed laudable as it reflects the egalitarian ethos of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Thus, as private schools open their doors to children from marginalised sections of society, the government pats itself on the back for...

A fourth of school students will need to be from less-privileged sections of society following an SC ruling on the RTE Act. While this can bring in social transformation, there are implementation challenges. Educationists share some solutions with Labonita Ghosh  Problem 1: WHO WILL FOOT THE BILL?  The government has offered to pay for the 25% of less-privileged students who will now have to be admitted into private schools, but it's not...

Entrepreneurs and investors , who had only recently found innovative ways to invest in education as a business , are concerned about the financial impact of the Supreme Court ruling last week upholding the Right to Education Act. All schools, except minority unaided ones , will now have to set aside 25% of seats for poor students .  While most investors welcome the move , they also worry about funding the...