Goa CM attacks Sibal, says RTE 'foolish policy'

Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikartoday called the Right to Education (RTE) Act as Union minister Kapil Sibal's "absolutely foolish policy".

Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikartoday called the Right to Education (RTE) Act as Union minister Kapil Sibal's "absolutely foolish policy".

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"RTE Act is Kapil Sibal's absolutely foolish policy. There are certain parameters in the policy which are wrong," Parrikar told reporters while objecting to the RTE Act's no-detention clause.

"The idea of no-detention is good, but there should be good parameters to implement it. After RTE, studying has become a farce," he said, referring to the huge number of students who reach class 9 automatically, because RTE Act's "no-detention" policy gives them unhindered right to be promoted.

"Students don't appear for examinations. They tell teachers that they are not bothered to appear because they know that they are going to pass," said the chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio in Goa government.

"I am not against promoting students, but priority must be to give them proper education," he said.

The state education department was caught up in a situation where 6,500 more students passed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination this year, straining admissions in higher secondary schools across the state, he said.