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RTE Act 2009: What top principals say

EducationWorld June 10 | EducationWorld Special Report
Now that the sounds of trumpets, hosannas and celebrations have muted, and academics and education experts have read the fine print of this historic and overdue legislation, they are discovering all kinds of contradictions, infirmities and obfuscations in the RTE Act. EW solicited the opinions of school principals on the impact and implications of the Act. Summiya Yasmeen reports Although it required a sustained 20-year campaign by a loose coalition of social activists, educationists, NGOs, and civil society, to transform the idea of the Right to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (aka Right to Education Act) which makes elementary education a fundamental right of all children aged six-14 years, into legislative reality, the celebrations have been muted since the Act became law on April 1. The enactment of this long-debated legislation prompted a special televised address to the nation by prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, in which he proclaimed that approval of the Bill by Parliament was a personal dream come true. “Today what I am, I am because of education. So, I want the light of education should reach to all… The government is committed to ensuring that all children irrespective of gender and social category, have access to education and fund cons-traints would not be allowed to hamper the implementation of the Right to Education Act,” said Manmohan Singh on this historic occasion. Union human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal, who is largely credited with drafting and fast-tracking the RTE Bill through Parliament, called upon India’s 29 state governments to implement the RTE Act vigorously. “Tomorrow will be a historic day as the RTE Act would come into effect. Education is going to be a constitutional right… It is a tryst with destiny in the area of education. Any child can demand his right for education from tomorrow. He will not be denied his right,” said Sibal on the eve of the notification of the Act. However, now that the sounds of trumpets, hosannas and celebrations have muted and academics and education experts have read the fine print of this historic and overdue legislation, they are discovering all manner of contradictions, confusion, constitutional infirmities and obfusca-tions in the RTE Act. For one, the Rs.1108,749 crore Union Budget 2010-11, presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to Parliament on February 26, which provides an outlay of Rs.42,036 crore for education, took no cognizance of the Right to Education Bill, let alone make financial provision for its implementation. This despite the Delhi-based National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) having (conservatively) estimated that a sum of Rs.178,000 crore over the next five years is required to fund the education of all children in the six-14 age group. Already, disputes have broken out between states (which are obliged to implement the provisions of the Act within their jurisdictions) and the Centre about the proportion in which the additional expenditure will be shared. Some state governments, notably of Uttar Pradesh (pop. 180 million) and Bihar (85 million) want New Delhi to shoulder the
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