RTE Act: Full of sound & fury signifying 'nothing'

Implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act that promises to provide every child between 6 to 14 years’ of age compulsory education is facing many hurdles. The Act was implemented in April 2010 which makes free and compulsory education a fundamental right of every child. However, providing quality education continues to be a matter of concern in Jaipur.

Several provisions of the Act are not implemented or are poorly managed and there is no proper mechanism to ensure their implementations either.

The government schools of Jaipur are marred by poor infrastructure and inadequate number of teachers. A recent survey conducted by Rajasthan Elementary Education Council (REEC) revealed that about 490 government schools in Jaipur district have just one teacher to teach all subjects to students ignoring the provisions of the Act, which stipulates a teacher-student ratio of 1:30 for classes I to V and 1:35 for classes VI to VIII. Also most of the government schools lack basic infrastructure, including electricity and buildings and do not have proper arrangement of drinking water.

"Three out of every four government schools do not have even electricity in Jaipur district, how can you teach in such conditions?" said Trilok Singh, president of Rajasthan Teachers’ Association. Private schools are also not enthusiastic about implementation of RTE in their schools. The Act clearly mentions providing 25 per cent reservation to economically deprived students but this is yet to be put in practice by these schools in Jaipur. Sources confirm that teachers also have to do administrative work and even double up as a peon in many schools.

Another latest survey by an NGO- Pratham has revealed that 2,910 children in Jaipur aged between 6 to 14 years are still out of schools. The survey found that many children work in hazardous conditions in industries, like zari, leather, and gem-cutting.