RTE Full Form

What is the full form of RTE?

RTE stands for the Right To Education act, which aims to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged between six to fourteen. Under the eighty-sixth amendment of the constitution, article 21-A was inserted. This aims to “provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine.” Although the RTE was a part of the eighty-sixth amendment of the constitution of India in 2002, it was enacted on 4 August, 2009 and was finally implemented on 1 April 2010. The act mainly focuses on two objectives- free and compulsory education. Under this a child, other than one who is admitted to a school not aided by the government, is eligible to education up to standard 8 without any expenses. Compulsory education also ensures that the relevant Government and local authorities provide and ensure that all children are admitted to, attend, and complete primary education for age group of 6-14 years.

This Story also Contains

1. What is the full form of RTE?
2. Key features of RTE
3. Funding of the Act
4. Monitoring of RTE Norms
5. CCE Under RTE
6. Success of the RTE Act
7. Limitations of RTE

Key features of RTE

The key features of RTE include the following:

1. Free and compulsory education

Each child, up to the age of 14, is eligible to access free elementary education. The school that provides education must be located within 1 km of their neighbourhood and also provide free textbooks, stationary, etc.

2. Special classes

The children, under this scheme, are to be provided with age appropriate classes and special training to enhance their learning.

3. Quality education

The teachers responsible for taking up classes should be well qualified and trained, and the specified pupil-teacher ratio should not disrupt.

4. Ensuring basic requisites

Proper environment for learning should be provided and certain norms and standards which include pupil-teacher ratio, proper drinking water, and separate washrooms for both genders, working hours of teachers, working days for students, etc. should be adhered to strictly.

5. No room for discrimination and harassment

All students should be treated equally and none should be deprived of education on the basis of caste, gender, etc. All forms of physical punishments and mental harassment are prohibited.

6. Focusing on all round development

Curricula that will guarantee the complete development of every child should be followed, which develops a child's knowledge, abilities, and potential as a person.

7. Enhancing student performance to reduce detention

Until Class 8, no child can be held back or expelled from school.

8. Establishing spaces open to all

All schools must compulsorily reserve at least 25% of their seats for socially disadvantaged and economically weak students.

Funding of the Act

According to the Indian Constitution, legislation on education can be passed at the national and state levels. For its implementation, the Act specifies particular duties for the central, state, and local governments. The states have been complaining that they lack the monetary resources to provide education of a sufficient quality in all the schools. Thus, it was evident that the central government—which brings in the majority of tax revenue—would have to subsidise the states.

To implement the Act, a committee was formed to study the funding requirements. The committee's initial estimate was that INR 1710 billion or 1.71 trillion (US$38.2 billion) would be needed over five years. In April 2010, the central government agreed to divide the funding for the law's implementation in the following proportions: 65 to 35 for the centre and the states, and 90 to 10 for the north-eastern states. However, this amount was increased to INR 2310 billion in the middle of 2010, and the centre consented to increase its portion to 68%.

Monitoring of RTE Norms

SMCs (School Management Committees) are essential for enhancing governance and participatory democracy in primary education. All schools covered by the Right to Education Act of 2009 are required to form a School Management Committee made up of the principal, a local elected official, parents, and other community members. The committees have the authority to create a plan for school growth and to oversee how the schools are operating.

In case the act is violated, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights takes over the matter. It is responsible for reviewing the protections for rights outlined in this Act, looking into complaints, and adjudicating cases with the authority of a civil court. Within a duration of six months after April 1 2010, the states had to establish a State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) or a Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA) and the local government was to receive a written complaint from anyone intending to make a dispute.

The SCPCR/REPA makes decisions about appeals and the approval of an officer authorised by the relevant authorities is necessary for the prosecution of offences.

CCE Under RTE

In order to assure learning results in schools that are appropriate for each grade, the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system was created in 2009 under the Right to Education Act. This approach was established in order to examine every area of the child while they were in school, allowing loopholes to be recognized and addressed as soon as possible.

According to this new pattern several tests are conducted which are placed into two categories, namely- formative and summative assessment. Formative tests are conducted four times per academic session and include the student's work at class and home, their performance in oral tests and quizzes and the standard of the projects or assignments. Summative tests, on the other hand, include two series of three-hour assessments each held at the completion of two formative assessments. The syllabus of summative assessments is not repeated. The question paper as well as the checking of the answer sheets is strictly monitored by CBSE.

The system was effectively implemented, not all teachers and students were able to adapt to it. Although its prime approach was to reduce the pressure on students who cannot fully engage in the educational system and leave it disheartened and lacking in confidence, students still had to wrestle with projects and quizzes all year long. Despite these criticisms, it was anticipated that this technique would produce better results than the rote learning of the old one.

Success of the RTE Act

A high-level National Advisory Council (NAC) with 14 members was established by the Ministry of HRD to oversee the implementation of the Act. The Ministry of Human Resource Development published a report on the Act's implementation status after a year. The report acknowledges that there are 508,000 more teachers needed nationwide and that 8.1 million children between the ages of six and fourteen are still not in school.

However, the RTE has made certain achievements over the years:

• It has been successful in increasing enrollment in upper primary.

• Improvement in school infrastructure was a result of stricter infrastructure standards, particularly in rural regions.

• More than 3.3 million children were admitted in schools in accordance with RTE's 25% quota requirement.

• It expanded access to education across the nation.

Limitations of RTE

• The age range could be increased to include children aged 4 to 18, instead of 6-14, to make it more inclusive and all-encompassing.

• According to numerous Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) reports, there is no emphasis on learning quality, hence it appears that the RTE Act is mostly input oriented.

• Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Telangana have not even notified the RTE about reserving 25% of their seats for socially disadvantaged children.

• RTE statistics are paid more attention than learning quality.

• The RTE-mandated pupil-teacher ratio is impacted by a lack of teachers, impairing quality education.

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