Failing Its Purpose

Mains Paper: 2 | Education
Prelims level: RTE Act
Mains level: RTE Act has not ensured delivery of quality education

Introduction

•  The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (popularly known as RTE Act) was born out of this mindset.

•  This approach raises a few questions.

•  Why should the executive arm of the government require a law to do something which it is authorised to do, in any case, under the extant legal provisions?

•  Could the purpose have been served without the law?

•  Has it been served after the enactment of the RTE Act?

•  Has the Act made it more complicated to deliver quality education?

What governments need to do?

•  The government could (should) have provided free quality education without a law as a number of countries have done.

•  The successive governments were attempting to do that but were unable to do so.

•  The inability was certainly not on account of absence of a legislation.

•  A number of non-legislative factors have created a mess in the last few decades in the education sector.

•  The impact of initiatives in education are visible only in the long run.

•  The enactment of RTE hardly led to any improvement in delivery of quality education. Learning outcomes, in fact, declined during the years that followed the legislation.

•  The focus of the RTE Act is primarily on “inputs” (like infrastructure) rather than “outcomes”.

•  It has created an adversarial relation between “public” and “private” schools.

•  The Act mandates that even private schools “shall admit in Class I, to the extent of at least 25 per cent of the strength of that class, children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group.”

•  The manner in which reimbursement is to be provided has created a number of problems.

•  Section 16 of the RTE provides that “No child admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till completion of elementary education”.

•  The model of “no detention” was apparently picked up from the West and transplanted in this country without taking into account the conditions prevalent here.

•  The pass percentage has plummeted at the Class 10-level. The states were not even given freedom to take a call on the issue.

•  The government has subsequently decided to provide an option to the states and the amendment is under the consideration of Parliament.

Way forward

•  The norms and standards prescribed in the schedule for a school are far removed from ground reality.

•  It is perhaps desirable has been made mandatory.

•  This has resulted in a phenomenal increase in the number of teachers.

•  During 2015-16, there were 39,608 government schools that had less than 10 children but each school was mandated to have a minimum of two teachers.

•  The budget private schools, most of whom are doing a great job in imparting education, are under enormous pressure to meet the prescribed standards or face closure.

•  On an average, around Rs 10,000 per child gets spent in government schools.

•  The budget schools do that for far less and impart as good, if not better, education.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Consider the following statements:
1. Minority educational institutions are not defined under the Indian Constitution.
2. Minority educational institutions are not covered under RTE Act, 2009.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: B

Mains Questions:
Q.1) Has it been served after the enactment of the RTE Act? Has the Act made it more complicated to deliver quality education?