Experts: New education policy on RTE unclear on extension

Educationists have expressed concerns over the final policy document of the new education policy which states that the government would ‘examine the extension of

Educationists have expressed concerns over the final policy document of the new education policy which states that the government would ‘examine the extension of the RTE Act’.

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The HRD ministry, had in its initial draft of the policy, stated that the RTE Act, which guarantees free and compulsory education to students between 6 and 14 years, would be extended to children between 3 and 18 years (preprimary to Class 12).

In its revised draft, however, it states, ‘to ensure that all students particularly students from underprivileged and disadvantaged sections have a guaranteed opportunity to participate in secondary education, the RTE Act will be considered for extension downwards to include up to three years and upwards to include grades 11-12.’

“There are more than 34 crore children between the age of 0-6 years and 14-18 years who will miss out on access to free and compulsory education if the RTE’s ambit isn’t pushed. This population should not be left out and the government should ensure that the necessary infrastructure and curriculum is developed for these students. Care should also be taken to ensure that students don’t drop out of the school system at any point,” said Ghanashyam Sonar, convenor, All India RTE Forum.

Swati Popat Vats, president of Early Childhood Association, said, “While including preschool education under RTE, care needs to be taken to ensure that minimum standards for education are set for private and public players. Emphasis needs to be laid on teacher training also, something that is missing from the new policy document.”

Vasant Kalpande, educationist and former chairperson of the state board, said, “A lot of ground work needs to be done to ensure that the necessary funding and other support systems are made available.”

After receiving more than 2 lakh suggestions — many of which were from educationists suggesting to clearly list out how it would implement the proposed changes — the MHRD gave six guiding principles.

“It is important to implement the policy initiatives in a phased manner, as each point has several steps, each of which requires the previous step to be implemented successfully,” reads the policy.