Right to Education Act 2010

From April 1, 2010 a historic Right to Education (RTE) act will be enforced in India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised that financial constrained will not hamper its implementation. The law envisions to provide free and compulsory education for all children between 6 and 14 years of age. In his address to the nation Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the Right to Education becoming a fundamental right. He said that the Government of India pledges to provide education to every child in India. The PM said, "Right to Education Act will realize the dreams of many children across the nation." .

Highlights of RTE Act

Sixty-three years after independence, India Thursday, the 1st April 2010 enforced a historic Right to Education (RTE) act that promises freedom from illiteracy for this vast and diverse country. Following are the key points of the legislation that expects to empower the nation through education: 1. Free and compulsory education to all children of India in the six to 14 age group; 2. No child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education (up to class eight); 3. A child who completes elementary education (upto Class 8) shall be awarded a certificate 4. Calls for a fixed student-teacher ratio; 5. Will apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir; 6. Provides for 25 percent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in all private and minority schools. The reservation to start with Class One beginning 2011 7. Mandates improvement in quality of education; 8. School teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose job; 9. School infrastructure (where there is problem) to be improved in three years, else recognition cancelled; 10 Financial burden will be shared between state and central government on the basis of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) 11. Private schools to face penalty for violating RTE. .

Challenges ahead
* The funds reqired to implement the RTE act of Rs.171,000 crors.. * 5 lakhs more trained teachers required. * Playgrounds for every school are the basic needs.

UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF welcome Right To Education Act

UNESCO, ILO and UNICEF applauding the ground-breaking Right to Education Act, legalising the right to free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14 in India. "Tens of millions of children will benefit from this initiative ensuring quality education with equity," said Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Representative in India. "RTE will propel India to even greater heights of prosperity and productivity for all guaranteeing children their right to a quality education and a brighter future." There are an estimated eight million Indian children and young people between the ages of six to 14 outof-school, the majority of whom are girls. Without India, the world cannot reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of having every child complete primary school by 2015. "This act is an essential step towards improving each child's accessibility to secondary and higher education, bringing India closer to achieving national educational development goals, as well as the MDGs and Education for All (EFA)," said UNESCO New Delhi Director Armoogum Parsuramen, commending in particular the Ministry's commitment to implementing the act in collaboration with the state governments. "UNESCO places the right to education at the heart of its mission, and stands ready to accompany all partners in their efforts to ensure its successful implementation."

India joins list of 135 countries in making RTE

With the Right to Education Act coming into force, India has joined the league of over 130 countries which have legal guarantees to provide free and compulsory education to children. According to the UNESCOs Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010, about 135 countries have constitutional provisions for free and non-discriminatory education for all. However, the report says that despite the legal guarantee of free education, primary school fees continue to be charged in some countries.