RTE And National Education Day

As the nation celebrates the National Education Day in remembrance of the first Education Minister of India, Maulana Azad, it is important to draw attention to the need for effective implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 also known as the Right to Education Act, 2009.

The policy makers of India had given primary focussed on the higher education for many years since Independence.The result, being that only a coterie of elitists and their offsprings recieved the benefits of higher education, thus, making India, the highest pool of illiterates at 37% which accounts to 287 million of the total 781 million of the world , according to the data available of a recent UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report.

It has been 9 years since the passing of the historic RTE Act which guarantees the right for free and compulsory education for all children till the age of 14 years. The primary loophole is the insufficient and non-availability of basic infrastructure such as qualified teachers who are willing to serve in the interiors, meals for mid day meal found unsafe, non-availability of textbooks, deplorable and dilipadated classrooms and toilets. Not only have these hampered the effectiveness of the Act, it has also sprung up the next generation of illiterates.

More allocation of funds in the annual budget for primary education and a special body should be set up for proper monitoring and keeping an detail view on its execution should be a priority for the decision makers. Accountability of the officials in-charge should be reviewed regularly.

National Education Day is a simple reminder of the task do that India would be fully literate in the coming years.

The proper implementation of this Act would enable to nurture a literate generation who would be able to adept to advanced technology knowhow and learn effortlessly new skills and contribute for the growth in the nation’s per capita income and overall GDP.