Most schools violate education act: report

Funds have been allocated, but growth has been "sporadic", the report said.

(Photo: The Hindu)

New Delhi:  Civil society organizations have alleged that more than 90 per cent schools are yet to comply with the guidelines of the Right to Education Act in terms of infrastructure and teacher availability even as the deadline to implement the Act expired on March 31.

The organizations have sought a pan-India review of the implementation of the act.

The organizations, which come under an umbrella group called RTE Forum, today released a report on the implementation of the Act.

Funds have been allocated, but growth has been "sporadic", the report said.

"While it is undeniable that additional government resources have been allotted, more teacher posts and infrastructure sanctioned and administrative changes brought about, these efforts have been sporadic," it added.

The sheer fact that less than 10 percent schools are RTE-compliant in terms of infrastructure and teacher availability is reflective of the reality of poor performance on the ground, it said.

"The tough issue of adequate financing, regulation of private providers, setting up of a transparency and redressal mechanism have not been addressed on the ground," the report said.

It also pointed out that India's commitment to provide education to millions of its children has "stagnated, between centre and state".

The report also highlights that 77 percent schools comply with the neighborhood norms as per RTE and are within reach of the community.

When it comes to infrastructure, 79 percent schools have all-weather buildings, but only 50 percent have a boundary wall.

Around five percent of the schools in the sample were run in a single room, nearly two-thirds had three or more classrooms, and only a third of the schools had seven or more classrooms.

Nearly 80 percent of the schools also had teaching-learning material accessible to teachers and students.

Source: twocircles.net