Features and Significance of Right to Education 2009

The Right to Education Act was enacted on the 4^th of August 2009. And it came into effect on the 1^st of April 2010. It provided each child between 6 to 14 years of age, the right to free and compulsory education.

This act was applied across all the parts of India excluding Jammu and Kashmir. Other than this exception, it also exempted Madrasas, Vedic pathshalas, and religious institutions from its scope of implementation.

The Need and Goals of the Right to Education Act 2009

Despite the reforms suggested through various education policies in India, education in India was still not a student’s ‘right’. Our weaker sections of society were still deprived of quality education. And there was a need to apply this act for proper conferment of the rights of children.

This act made education a fundamental right. And it removed the financial barriers by introducing the concept of ‘free and compulsory’ education.

With this act, a child’s education was now a responsibility of the government. Because with this Act, the government was fully responsible to ensure a child’s admission, completion of elementary education along with proper attendance.

In general, this act aimed at getting all the children within this age bracket into the mainstream schooling system. And this makes RTE 2009 a landmark in the history of our Indian educational system.

Here’s a look at the main recommendations of the RTE 2009:

• All students between the age groups of 6 to 14 years shall have a fundamental right to school education.
• Neighborhood schools to be established to implement the provisions of this act.
• For this education within the defined age bracket, the child need not pay any fees or expenses.
• The same right to education equally applies to disabled students as well. And the ones with chronic disabilities can opt for home-based education.
• Children who are above six years of age and are not admitted in schools to be admitted in age-appropriate classes after special training. They shall also enjoy their right to education till the age of 14 years.
• Any child who seeks transfer of school in this duration (6 to 14 years) shall have the right to do so. And the concerned authorities of the previous school must issue a transfer certificate without any delay.
• Appropriate pupil-teacher ratio to be ensured in every school (within three years from the date of commencement of this act).  
• Separate toilets for girls and boys and safe school buildings to be maintained with all the necessary amenities.
• 25% reservation for EWS (economically weaker sections) students.

How did RTE 2009 help in restructuring the Indian education system?

The Right to Education Act, 2009 certainly brought a concrete plan for school education in the specified age groups. It also introduced a ‘No detention’ policy until class 8^th to retain students within the mainstream system. Its comprehensive and continuous evaluation system is another great initiative to map the learning outcomes with the broad educational goals.

In the recent National Education Policy 2020, the RTE act was acknowledged as a giant stride in the Indian education system. Because of all the acts, and education policies in India, this one helped in attaining almost a universal enrollment in elementary education.

It also addressed the issues like infrastructure in schools and the general accessibility to school education. With provisions like free and compulsory education, trained teachers, appropriate pupil-teacher ratio this act covered almost all the important aspects of education. However, like most of the other suggested reforms, this one too did not prove to be picture-perfect.

What Went Wrong?

With the RTE Act, 25% of the school enrollment was to be reserved for the economically disadvantaged sections. However, its implementation is not as easy as it sounds. Various challenges such as adjustment of ethnic groups, digital divide, inferiority complex in EWS students are still unresolved. And with the sudden shift to online schooling, the implementation of the RTE act is all the more difficult in this pandemic era.

Some experts have validated the hits and misses of the RTE Act. And they have highlighted some prominent gaps such as the lack of monitoring mechanisms like competency tests etc. Even the external supervision is not up to the mark. This makes the implementation of this act solely in the hands of the school authorities.

Other than this, the no-detention policy under the RTE has also contributed in bringing down the overall learning levels. And the challenges like corruption within the system further continues to cripple the education system.

Final Thoughts on this Education Policy:

RTE 2009 is hands down a milestone in the history of the Indian education system. But its scope remains more about enrollment than the quality of education. Today, when India battles with the consequences of the global pandemic, RTE is taking a back seat for the stakeholders. And after a decade of its implementation, it is high time the government examines the real picture of the ‘Right to Education’ provided to our Indian students.

Let’s take up the National Policy of Education, 2020 next!