13 May,2011 06:37 AM IST | | Sheetal Sukhija
Least bothered about numerous children being deprived of basic schooling, education department fails to implement the act since that was passed in April 1, 2010
Over 200 activists from the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) group protested against the delay in implementation of the Right To Education Act (RTE).
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The Right to Education Act provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six
to 14 years
They assembled outside the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan office yesterday morning, claiming that the rules have not been notified in the gazette despite several drafts being made.
They alleged that the education department has been indifferent about implementing the act since April 1, 2010.u00a0
"We gave a memorandum to the Chief Minister's office five months ago and we were assured that the act would be implemented from the current academic year, but no progress was seen," said P Lakshapathi, a core committee member.
Another member of CACL, Mathews Philip said, "We suspect that private school lobbyists are pressurising the government against its implementation.
There are approximately 2 crore students between the ages of 6 to 14 years in the city and they are being denied the fundamental right to education because the education board is not proactive."
Addressing the protesters, the director of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, B V Kulkarni assured that the act will be implemented soon.
"Around five model drafts were prepared according to the mandate given by the government. We've sent it to them and they will take it ahead shortly.
However, the board has already issued six circulars implementing various provisions of the act," Kulkarni said.
What's the big deal?
According to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan Office there are about 85 lakh students between the age group of 6-14 years.
"Two third of these students are already studying in government schools. About 25 per cent of the rest are enrolled into private schools.
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The rest study at government aided schools. The implementation of the act might not bring about a world of difference," explains B V Kulkarni.
Fee hikes
While Government schools provide free education to students across the state, private school fees are being hiked with each academic year.
The losers are the 20 per cent of the student population who have not received any kind of basic formal education as a result of lack of facilities or reluctance on the part of parents.
Lakshapathi explained, "Government schools claim that they provide free education, but they only provide one notebook, one uniform set and a pen/pencil. Is that ever going to be enough?"
He further explained that a group of private school owners appealed to the Supreme Court against this act, citing various reasons.
"They claimed that they would run into losses if they allow for this 25 per cent reservation at their schools.
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They further argued that the quality of basic education these students will have is low and they cannot compete with other students from well-to-do and literate backgrounds.
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While the quality of basic education is debatable, these students aren't to be blamed for that," Lakshapathi said.
Money needed
The Primary and Secondary Education Minister Visveswara Hedge Kageri had earlier said that the state would need monetary help from the central government to implement the act.
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"Around Rs 400 crore would be required to implement this act and the amount would be shared by both the state and central government," Kulkarni said.
While the debate between the protesters and the education board continues, itu00a0 remains to be seen whether implemetation of the act will actually bring about an increase in the literacy rate in the state.
Know about RTE?
' The Act provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to 14 years
' The act has the same legal status as the Right to Life as provided by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution
' Private education institutions have to reserve 25 per cent of their seats starting from class I in 2011 to children from lower economic backgrounds
' These children are to be treated on par with other children in the school
