The state government will require an additional 43,500 primary school teachers to implement the right to education (RTE) Act, 2009, in schools managed/aided by the government and civic bodies, a preliminary report by the state primary education department has revealed. Under the act, every child between 6-14 years of age will be provided eight years of elementary education in an age-appropriate classroom in his/her neighbourhood. According to the primary report prepared by...

In an attempt to expedite the implementation of the RTE Act (Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act), the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved revision of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which is regarded as a flagship programme to universalise elementary education across the country. A revised SSA that is aligned with the RTE norms is expected to be the main vehicle for the...

The challenge to the validity of the much-hyped Right to Education (RTE) Act mandating free and compulsory education for children was on Monday admitted for hearing by the Supreme Court and referred for adjudication to a five- judge constitution Bench. A Bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar found the petition filed by an association of Jaipur-based private unaided schools raising constitutional...

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions filed by several private unaided and minority schools challenging the government's new Right to Education Act, 2009, which guarantees free and compulsory education for all children between 6 and 14 years of age in the country. Under this law, every child aged 6 to 14 shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood...

Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Santa Sihna on Sunday called upon the Orissa Government, civil society and all the stakeholders including children to play a key role in aiding the commission so as to bring changes in lives of each and every child through Right to Education (RTE). Attending a State level convention jointly organised by NCPCR and Orissa Alliance on Convention on rights of the...