STATE OF THE NATION, RTE SECTION 12(1)(C): AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

The Report looks at Section 12(1) (c) from an administrative, legal and financial perspective to highlight the challenges and to recommend suggestions for improvement.

Section 12(1) (c) of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE) stipulates that private unaided schools shall compulsorily enrol children from the economically disadvantaged section of society, and these children should form 25% of the class strength. The school will take responsibility of completing the elementary education of these children. 

The true spirit of the Section, often misconstrued, is working towards creating an accessible environment that enables children from different backgrounds to share interests and knowledge on a common platform, to desegregate what has become a highly segregated society. 

It’s importance lies in reducing the segregation in society which has been created over the years, so as to inculcate a holistic way of education, one which involves children from all strata of society spending 8 years of their life studying amongst one another.

However, the Section has come under a lot of scrutiny as the affluent private schools are not comfortable with providing free education to children from such economically backward backgrounds, as their concerns vary from Parent’s complaining of their children studying with the children of their maids and servants, or Teachers complaining about discrepancy in learning between students from the EWS groups and others.

Among other things, it seeks to ensure that the rapidly growing private sector in schooling fulfils a larger public responsibility.  Vinod Raina, one of the thinkers behind the RTE Act, clarified that “…the larger objective is to provide a common place where children sit,eat and live together for at least eight years of their lives across caste, class and gender divides in order that it narrows down such divisions in our society.”