RTE Act 2009 :AN EVALUATION

The provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 which gives legislative sanctity to the 86th amendment act 2002, is a progressive step towards realization of universalisation of elementary education and realization of the ultimate goal of securing “inclusive education” .however, the provision of the same without proper planning could result in rendering the act ineffective & work in contravention to the purpose for which the legislation has been brought about.
Various niggling constraints stand as hurdles in the effective implementation of the act:
The lack of sufficient educational infrastructure in our existing schools (both public & private)is a serious concern. By not providing for sufficient elementary school infrastructure, prior to the enactment of the act, the legislation which comes into force on April 1 2010 may choke our existing schools and overburden them. The huge number of children (92 lakh) who become eligible as a matter of right to claim for education would still be marginalized as schools would be ill-equipped to handle the sudden surge in pupil population…further, while adequate school infrastructure is an essential pre-requisite for the legislation to serve its purpose, it is insufficient to ensure that all children attend school and participate in the learning process. The school may be there, but children may not attend or they may drop out after a few months. There are a whole gamut of social, economic, cultural, and indeed linguistic and pedagogic issues, factors that prevent children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, as also girls, from regularly attending and completing elementary education these issues should first be subject to intellectual enquiry and probable solutions should be arrived at.
The RTE 2009 may not put a stop to the current crisis experienced by the union HRD ministry in meeting shortage of qualified teachers for our existing schools. Bringing in the legislation would only augment the need for qualified school staff. Conservative estimates put the requirement at around19lakh additional qualified teachers. For making this a reality we again need more teacher training schools, a drive to improve recruitment of teachers. Primarily, there is a need to fill in the existing pending vacancies and bring in B.ED graduates waiting in the wings .then a new scheme which could harness the services which unemployed graduates for an interim period, could be envisaged.
The third major constraint is provision of employment opportunities for the educated lot. We live in a globalised era of specialization .the key mantra to be employable today is to have greater qualification and work experience than your nearest competitor. Under such circumstances, if the legislation is not able to effect a smooth transition into higher educational institutions & subsequently seek quality employment thereafter. The purpose of providing inclusive education would be lost; it would cease to be an attractive avenue to pursue & could increase the incidence of child labour.
The introduction of a national knowledge network to link up all educational institutions and research institutions is a welcome step in that ,it would help bridging the gap between the school & the universities. However, such a linkage should be effectively utilized to dynamically update the syllabi and bring in the best practices followed elsewhere in the world. Another vital element of concern is that, the RTE is mum on the non-uniformity of standards of education (in terms of resources, facilities & efficiency) which persist between private & government schools & within govt schools, between the central, state, municipal & panchayat schools. Unless concrete steps are taken towards achievement of uniform schooling system the act cannot assist in development of our human resources.
.A scientific approach is needed to bridge the gap between education and employability. An ironic fact in our country is the co-existence of shortage/unfilled vacancies on one hand and unemployment on the other. What is needed is a scientific mapping of all possible avenues where employment could be created & then expediting the employment of unemployed qualified youth. The government cannot afford to be complacent on this front.
The RTE provides for certain protection to children from corporal punishments, detention, expulsion etc.while the intentions of these provisions are mature, any changes in the fundamental notions of discipline and control embedded within the teaching methodology adopted by our teachers could be a very difficult task to achieve. The onus would rest on the choices teachers make with respect to accepting /rejecting the National curriculum framework 2005 for teacher training.
While the progressive strides made by the government in according education & health top priority is laudable, a massive overhaul in infrastructure should be carried out on a war footing.it is the duty of not only the government but also the NGO’s,civil society ,private sector, media & every individual citizen of india to ensure that this remarkable piece of legislation addresses all the aforesaid concerns & stands apart from all those numerous legislations which were rendered inefficient due to improper planning.