One out of four places in private schools in India will be reserved for socially and economically disadvantaged groups. This resolution is a result of the Indian Supreme Court having recently endorsed Clause 12 in the Right to Education Act. Some private educators challenged the constitutional validity of this clause, arguing it violated their autonomy, but the Supreme Court certified that this applies to both public and unaided private schools.
Approved in 2009, the Right to Education Act (RTE) makes education a fundamental right of every child aged 6 to 14 and specifies minimum regulations in elementary schools. It is the first legislation in the world placing the responsibility of education directly on the State.
“We celebrate the Court’s decision. However, it is crucial to ensure a proper implementation of the Act, allocating the resources needed and effectively monitoring its application while enhancing the public education system”, said Mr. S. Eswaran, General Secretary of the All-India Primary Teachers’ Federation. He explained that key issues such as gender balance and preventing discrimination within the classroom should be taken into account.
“We, as teacher unions, believe that an egalitarian education system would aim to enhance the quality of public education above all. One of the main challenges is solving the current shortfall of teachers through quality recruitment and professional training,” Eswaran concluded.
According to the 2011 Indian census, the literacy rate has gone up from 65% to 74% in the last decade - an important attainment in the second most populous nation in the world. Although this can be considered a success, a lot more has to be done to meet the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015.
Source: ei-ie.org
