Implementation Status of Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 in Tripura

MGIRED Journal Volume 2(1) : 90 - 100 ISSN 2393 -9605

IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF RIGHT TO EDUCATION (RTE) ACT 2009 IN TRIPURA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS Rajib Malakar Arobindo Mahato SIPARD & Research Scholar, Assistant Professor, Tripura Central University Dept. of Rural Management and Development, Contact No. : 09862724592/09774673240 Tripura Central University email: [email protected] email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT Education is an essential human right which must be provided to all for the sustainable development of the nation. It enhances the productivity of the citizens and thus is directly linked to the welfare of the people. In India, Education is controlled by the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. Most of the universities in India are controlled by the Union or State Government. Article 21–A of the Indian Constitution casts a duty upon the State to provide Free Compulsory Education to children in the age group of 6- 14 years, ‘as the State may, by law, determine’. Therefore, time to time a demand has been raised for a law to ensure the Free Compulsory Education in India. Though several Central and state level attempts have been taken towards this end. The Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan (SSA) is one of the successful attempts. The last of such attempts resulted in the “Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009” which declares education is a fundamental right for all. After enactment of the act the States/ UTs are also required to pay special attention to cope with the new provisions of RTE Act in terms of appointment of qualified teachers, development of special training programmes for out-of-school children admitted to age appropriate classes and preparation of relevant teaching learning materials. The Govt. of Tripura historically expenses a maximum share of its state budget in education sector. It is near about 21%, which is quite larger in the entire country. As per census 2011, the overall literacy rate of the state is 87.8%. The state has 4800 schools and 90% among them are Government schools. During 2013-14, total enrolment in school was 590230. In this scenario, the good sign is that, girls enrolment rate is 49. This present study attempts to examine the implementation status of the RTE act provisions in the state in

90 General Article Malakar & Mahato RTE Act 2009 in Tripura terms of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of elementary ü Prohibition of capitation fee and screening procedures, education facilities. ü Prohibition of physical punishment and mental harassment, Key Words: Free and Compulsory Education, Right to Education, Elementary ü Norms and standards for schools, Education, ü Preparation of school development plan, INTRODUCTION ü Laying down the curriculum and evaluation procedures, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act ü Monitoring child's rights to education, and (RTE), which was passed by the Indian parliament on 4th August 2009, describes the ü Constitution of State Advisory Council, among other aspects. modalities of the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. After that, now India became The Indian previous elementary education system has been successful to some extent in one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act achieving higher levels of funding, access, enrollment and infrastructure. However, came into force on 1 April 2010. The act was notified as law on 3 Sept 2009 as The high dropout rates, low attendance, universal, equitable and quality elementary Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act. The RTE Act has provisions for education for all continue to be a challenge in this system. The Right to Education Act is every child who is above six years of age and has not yet been enrolled to any school or a path breaking Act in the history of Indian Education towards providing quality could not complete his/ her elementary education due to any reason to be admitted in a elementary education to all. class appropriate to his or her age. After implementation of this act the States/UTs are In case of Tripura, as per the Educational Development Index (EDI) 2013-14 conducted also required to pay special attention to ensure the various important provisions of the by the National University of Education Planning and Administration, Govt. of India RTE Act, such as: the state has achieved 10th position in educational accessibility point of view. This ü Right of disabled child to receive free and compulsory education in a measured in terms of density of schools per 10 sq.km, availability of school per 1000 neighborhood school, child populations and ratio of primary to upper primary schools/sections. One of the most important features of universal education is marginalizing the dropout rate. The ü Completion of elementary education even after fourteen years of age, average dropout rate of students in primary level in Tripura was 2.22 during 2012-13. It ü Right of child to seek transfer to any other school, is much lower than the national dropout rate i.e. 4.67. It shows that, the state is ü Prohibition of holding back and expulsion of child, performing its best towards inclusive education. Though, the state has some specific ü No child is denied admission because of lack of proof of age, problems. Ensuring quality education for all is a strong challenge. To implement any kinds of proactive initiative the state is looking towards the Union Government for ü Formulating standards and norms for school management committees, funding. As a member of North Eastern states Tripura is also facing the disadvantages of ü Qualification, terms and conditions of services of teachers, geographical location. Therefore, to implementing the state obligations of Right to ü Filling of vacancies of teachers, Education Act is a challenge for Tripura. ü Pre-school education (States/UTs may provide for this), THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT AND STATE OBLIGATIONS ü Duties of teachers, and redressal of their grievances, The Rights to Education act, 2009 encompass two broad components i.e. enhancement ü Duties of parents/guardians, of access of all to education on the basis of equality and nondiscrimination, and freedom ü Prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes, to choose the kind (public/private institutions) and content (religious and moral) of education. Both aspects represent the spirit and fundamental essence of the right to ü Maintaining pupil teacher ratio as specified, 91 92 General Article Malakar & Mahato RTE Act 2009 in Tripura terms of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of elementary ü Prohibition of capitation fee and screening procedures, education facilities. ü Prohibition of physical punishment and mental harassment, Key Words: Free and Compulsory Education, Right to Education, Elementary ü Norms and standards for schools, Education, ü Preparation of school development plan, INTRODUCTION ü Laying down the curriculum and evaluation procedures, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act ü Monitoring child's rights to education, and (RTE), which was passed by the Indian parliament on 4th August 2009, describes the ü Constitution of State Advisory Council, among other aspects. modalities of the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. After that, now India became The Indian previous elementary education system has been successful to some extent in one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act achieving higher levels of funding, access, enrollment and infrastructure. However, came into force on 1 April 2010. The act was notified as law on 3 Sept 2009 as The high dropout rates, low attendance, universal, equitable and quality elementary Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act. The RTE Act has provisions for education for all continue to be a challenge in this system. The Right to Education Act is every child who is above six years of age and has not yet been enrolled to any school or a path breaking Act in the history of Indian Education towards providing quality could not complete his/ her elementary education due to any reason to be admitted in a elementary education to all. class appropriate to his or her age. After implementation of this act the States/UTs are In case of Tripura, as per the Educational Development Index (EDI) 2013-14 conducted also required to pay special attention to ensure the various important provisions of the by the National University of Education Planning and Administration, Govt. of India RTE Act, such as: the state has achieved 10th position in educational accessibility point of view. This ü Right of disabled child to receive free and compulsory education in a measured in terms of density of schools per 10 sq.km, availability of school per 1000 neighborhood school, child populations and ratio of primary to upper primary schools/sections. One of the most important features of universal education is marginalizing the dropout rate. The ü Completion of elementary education even after fourteen years of age, average dropout rate of students in primary level in Tripura was 2.22 during 2012-13. It ü Right of child to seek transfer to any other school, is much lower than the national dropout rate i.e. 4.67. It shows that, the state is ü Prohibition of holding back and expulsion of child, performing its best towards inclusive education. Though, the state has some specific ü No child is denied admission because of lack of proof of age, problems. Ensuring quality education for all is a strong challenge. To implement any kinds of proactive initiative the state is looking towards the Union Government for ü Formulating standards and norms for school management committees, funding. As a member of North Eastern states Tripura is also facing the disadvantages of ü Qualification, terms and conditions of services of teachers, geographical location. Therefore, to implementing the state obligations of Right to ü Filling of vacancies of teachers, Education Act is a challenge for Tripura. ü Pre-school education (States/UTs may provide for this), THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT AND STATE OBLIGATIONS ü Duties of teachers, and redressal of their grievances, The Rights to Education act, 2009 encompass two broad components i.e. enhancement ü Duties of parents/guardians, of access of all to education on the basis of equality and nondiscrimination, and freedom ü Prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes, to choose the kind (public/private institutions) and content (religious and moral) of education. Both aspects represent the spirit and fundamental essence of the right to ü Maintaining pupil teacher ratio as specified, 91 92 General Article Malakar & Mahato RTE Act 2009 in Tripura education. The demanding nature of the obligations involved in ensuring the right to 2011, the state has a population of 36,71,032. Among them 74 % population belongs to education is reflected in the number and variety of reservations, declarations and rural area. The overall literacy rate of the state is 87.2% and female literacy rate is objections relating to the relevant article in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 82.7%. Presently the state has 4800 schools. Among them 4323 nos. schools are However, the provisions of Right to Education Act can be divided in four components. designated as Govt. School. This is around 90% of the total schools. The number of These are (a) Equal enjoyment of, and equal access to, educational opportunities and schools is also increasing. This is a continuous process. One more important point is facilities (b) Compulsory and free primary education (c) Generally available and that, 85% of the schools are belonging to rural area and half of them are primary schools. accessible secondary education, and equally accessible higher education and (d) Freedom of choice in education, and freedom to establish private institutions. To ensure these provisions the CESCR has identified four elements of the state's Category of School Number obligations with respect to the right to education. These are (1) availability, (2) 2013-14 2012-13 accessibility, (3) acceptability and (4) adaptability. The duty to provide compulsory Primary School 2564 2535 and free primary education is undoubtedly a prerequisite for the realization of the right Pry. U. Pry School 1271 1263 to education. Pry. U. Pry School and Sec. + HS school 322 308 THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY Upper Pry 2 4 EDUCATION RULES (TRIPURA) 2011 Upper Pry with Sec.+ HS. School 67 66 As per the direction of section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Pry with U. Pry and Sec. 564 563 Education Act, 2009, the Government of Tripura has formulated the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules (Tripura) 2011 and implemented it in the Upper Pry with Sec.10 6 state. The rule consists of six parts. Rural Govt. Schools 4077 - Part I of the rule is preliminary and defines various terms used in the rule. Part II of the Government School 4223 - rules discusses about the composition and functions of the School Management Total School 4800 4745 Committee for the purposes of section 21 of the RTE Act 2009. Part III tells about the Sources: School Report Cards 2013-14, National University of Educational right of children to free and compulsory education. Part IV of the rule mentions about Planning and Administration the role and responsibilities of the State Government and Local Authority. Part V of the Rule is very important it describes the roles of Schools and teachers and the last SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURES part i.e. Part VI mentions about the protection of rights of the children. The character The RTE act mentions that, the school building should be well equipped with some of the rule framed by the Govt. of Tripura is ensuring all the provisions mentioned in infrastructures to ensure quality education. An office cum store for the head teacher, the Right to Education Act 2009. separate toilets for boys and for girls, a kitchen for cooking the free mid day meal, have access to safe drinking water, a library, a playground, and barrier free access. IMPLEMENTATION SCENARIO OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN TRIPURA Infrastructure and Resources Infrastructure is a basic component to make education universal. As per the census

93 94 General Article Malakar & Mahato RTE Act 2009 in Tripura education. The demanding nature of the obligations involved in ensuring the right to 2011, the state has a population of 36,71,032. Among them 74 % population belongs to education is reflected in the number and variety of reservations, declarations and rural area. The overall literacy rate of the state is 87.2% and female literacy rate is objections relating to the relevant article in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 82.7%. Presently the state has 4800 schools. Among them 4323 nos. schools are However, the provisions of Right to Education Act can be divided in four components. designated as Govt. School. This is around 90% of the total schools. The number of These are (a) Equal enjoyment of, and equal access to, educational opportunities and schools is also increasing. This is a continuous process. One more important point is facilities (b) Compulsory and free primary education (c) Generally available and that, 85% of the schools are belonging to rural area and half of them are primary schools. accessible secondary education, and equally accessible higher education and (d) Freedom of choice in education, and freedom to establish private institutions. To ensure these provisions the CESCR has identified four elements of the state's Category of School Number obligations with respect to the right to education. These are (1) availability, (2) 2013-14 2012-13 accessibility, (3) acceptability and (4) adaptability. The duty to provide compulsory Primary School 2564 2535 and free primary education is undoubtedly a prerequisite for the realization of the right Pry. U. Pry School 1271 1263 to education. Pry. U. Pry School and Sec. + HS school 322 308 THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY Upper Pry 2 4 EDUCATION RULES (TRIPURA) 2011 Upper Pry with Sec.+ HS. School 67 66 As per the direction of section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Pry with U. Pry and Sec. 564 563 Education Act, 2009, the Government of Tripura has formulated the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules (Tripura) 2011 and implemented it in the Upper Pry with Sec.10 6 state. The rule consists of six parts. Rural Govt. Schools 4077 - Part I of the rule is preliminary and defines various terms used in the rule. Part II of the Government School 4223 - rules discusses about the composition and functions of the School Management Total School 4800 4745 Committee for the purposes of section 21 of the RTE Act 2009. Part III tells about the Sources: School Report Cards 2013-14, National University of Educational right of children to free and compulsory education. Part IV of the rule mentions about Planning and Administration the role and responsibilities of the State Government and Local Authority. Part V of the Rule is very important it describes the roles of Schools and teachers and the last SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURES part i.e. Part VI mentions about the protection of rights of the children. The character The RTE act mentions that, the school building should be well equipped with some of the rule framed by the Govt. of Tripura is ensuring all the provisions mentioned in infrastructures to ensure quality education. An office cum store for the head teacher, the Right to Education Act 2009. separate toilets for boys and for girls, a kitchen for cooking the free mid day meal, have access to safe drinking water, a library, a playground, and barrier free access. IMPLEMENTATION SCENARIO OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN TRIPURA Infrastructure and Resources Infrastructure is a basic component to make education universal. As per the census

93 94 General Article Malakar & Mahato RTE Act 2009 in Tripura

Category Primary School (%) All School (%) In Tripura the density of primary school per 10sq. Km is 4.5, whereas, in case of upper primary schools the number is 2.13. These average working days of these schools are Single Class room School 8 4.5 around above 200 days. Only 2.68% primary schools are found in Tripura where average Schools with Play ground 50.4 57.9 working day is less than 200. School with girls toilet 85.6 86.8 (Source: “Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14)”, Schools with Boys toilet 95.7 94.2 NUEPA) Schools with Drinking water 83 84.5 TEACHER FOR EDUCATION Schools with ramp for disable children 32.3 48.6 Quality of teacher is an important issue of RTE 2009 to ensuring quality education for the Schools with Kitchen Shed 70.7 73.8 children's. The percentage of Single teacher school in Tripura is very minor, it was around Schools having library 25.51 30.10 2% during 2013-14 as per Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14)”, NUEPA. Whereas, 3.71 % Primary schools are still belongs to so called Source: School Report Cards 2013-14, National University of Educational Planning and Administration “single teacher school”. The numbers of students in these schools are very poor. Only School Toilets are an integral part of every school building. But still there is a gap. Around 1.71% schools were reported where the number of student is 15 or above. If we compare 14 % schools don't have any girl's toilet. Though most of the schools have been upgraded it with enrollment status, we may see that only 0.66% student of the total enrollment are to more than one class room but a minor percentage is still on waiting. It is hampering the belonging to these schools. The average number of teachers per school in Tripura is 9, spirit of quality education. whereas, in primary school the average number is 3.7. The teacher student ratio is 14, which is far below than the national level where it is 26. During 2013-14 not a single STUDENT CLASS ROOM RATIO (SCR) district was found from Tripura where teacher student ratio is 30 or above it. As per the report published by the National University of Educational Planning and To ensure quality in education system ensuring professionally trained teacher is very Administration on “Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013- important. Tripura is facing this problem. Only 43% teachers of Tripura are 14)” in the country we have only 203 districts where SCR is above 30. Tripura has added professionally trained. The details are as follows: only one district in the list. In Tripura, 21.67% primary level schools are identified where student class room ratio is below 30 during 2013-14. The average number of class room in per school of Tripura is 4.8, which is equal to the national level. In case of primary Category of School Percentage of Percentage of schools, the number is 3.7 against 3.5 of the national level. Professionally trained professionallytrained ACCESSIBILITY OF SCHOOL Regular teacher contractual teacher Tripura is geographically a hilly state. Here tribal people are living in small hamlets. But Government School 45.58 0 still, Govt. is ensuring schools for all. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Government Aided school 43.43 100 Education Rules (Tripura) 2011 ensures the two basic children's rights. Private School 24.10 14.24 a) In respect of children in classes' I-V a school shall be established within a walking Unrecognized school 12.30 0 distance of one km of the neighborhood. All School 43.37 13.86 b) In respect of children in classes VI -VIII a school shall be established within a walking distance of three kms of the neighborhood. Source: Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14)”, NUEPA

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Engagement of Teachers in Non-teaching assignment: OUT COMES IN EDUCATIONAL INDICATORS This issue is very crucial. It is a common phenomenon in India to involving the teachers High Enrollment in non-teaching activity like census, election duty, official work, etc. The RTE Act 2009 The State Government is giving its effort to make education universal which has been prohibits it. Good sign is that in Tripura this tradition has been reduced a lot. If we resulted in high enrollment scenario. The enrollment scenario of the last few years is compare the last academic year situation with previous years it may be clear. indicated in the above table: Academic Year Percentage of Average Grade Total Enrollment (Number) Girls Enrollment (%) Teachers Involved Working days 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2011-12 9 35 I to V 384760 391556 386530 48.98 48.95 49.02 2012-13 9.43 39 V to VIII 218820 214474 203700 48.95 48.87 49 2013-14 0.26 9 Source: Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14), NUEPA Source: Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14)”, NUEPA During the last three academic years the enrollment rate is at a high level. Most The above table shows that, after implementation of RTE a dramatic change has been important thing is girl's enrollment rate. It is near about 50% of the total enrollment in occurs to ensure that teachers should be involved for ensuring education only. both primary and upper primary level. NO FAIL NO PASS POLICY ENROLLMENT OF THE VULNERABLE SECTIONS The Section 16 of RTE Act states that, “ No child admitted in a school shall be held back The presences of the children from socially backward families are also good in in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education”. But it number in compare to their population size. does not mean that children's learning will not be assessed. The RTE Act makes provision of continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) procedure. It aims that, Category Population percentage, Percentage of Enrollment the teacher will assess the child's learning and performance in a more constructive way. Census 2011 Primary Upper Primary Like the other states Tripura is also implementing this procedure. During 2012-13 the Schedule Caste 17.8 18 20.2 transition rate from primary to upper primary was 92.10. Schedule Tribe 31.8 39.7 36.4

RIGHT OF CHILDREN Source: School Report Cards 2013-14, National University of Educational Planning and In respect of section 31 of RTE Act the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Administration & Census 2011 Education Rules (Tripura) 2011 mentions the provision of The Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA). Again to ensure the section 34 of the RTE Act the Govt. The above table depicts that, education is accessible for all in the state. Beside this, has constituted a state advisory council to ensure the rights of the children. As per the the Muslim students of Tripura are also belongs to the 13% of the total enrollment. Act, now punishment of children in terms of mental and physical harassment by the WITHOUT DROPOUT teacher is as an offence. Therefore in Tripura, physical punishment or mental harassment is not a practice in any of the school. Action has been taken by the Education without drop out is a core essence of RTE. The drop out scenario of administration where such complain arises against the teacher. Tripura is as follows:

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Grade Drop Out Rate in India Drop Out Rate in Tripura REFERENCE 2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14 [1] Bajpei Asha (2006). Child Rights in India: Law, Policy and Practice, Oxford Primary 4.67 4.67 2.22 2.22 University Press, New Delhi. Upper Primary 3.13 3.13 3.08 3.08 [2] Beteille Tara (2002). Elementary Education in India. Social Initiative Group, ICICI. Source: School Report Cards 2013-14, & Elementary Education in India: Progress towards use (DISE 2013-14) National University of Educational Planning and Administration & Census 2011 [3] Knight Boissiere J. and Sabot R.H. (1983). Educational Expansion, Government Policy and Wage Compression. The World Bank. The aim of the RTE is to make education drop out free as elementary education for [4] Kumar Nita (1999). The history of Education in Banaras. Sage Publications. every child is mandatory under this act. Hence there is a scope to give more effort to New Delhi. make the dropout rate zero. [5] Lockheed M.E. & Verspoor A. (1991). Improving Primary Education in SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT AND CONCLUSION Developing Countries. World Bank/OUP. The Right to Education Act creates a new era towards universal education. After [6] Mukhopadhyay Marmar (2001). Total Quality Management in Education. implementation of the act improvement arises in several indicators. Quality Sage Publications, New Delhi. education is now became an important issue and Government is also focusing it. [7] Ojha Seema S. (2013). Implementing Right to Education: Issues and Engagement of quality teacher is very essential for this purpose. Recently, the challenges. Research Journal of Educational Sciences. Agartala High Court gave a historical verdict towards ensuring quality teacher. The verdict is given on the basis of provisions mentioned under the RTE act. More than [8] Psacharopoulos George and Woodhall Maureen (1985). Education for ten thousand teachers are now facing their job crisis. Providing quality education is Development: An Analysis of Investment Choices. New York: Oxford most important than creating job opportunity for the un-qualified job seekers. So University Press, 72-104. engagement of quality teacher in education sector is a big challenge now. [9] Sarkar C.K. (2012). Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, One more important thing is proper assessment of the students. It will ensure the 2009 and its Implementation. Retrieved December 02, 2014, from spirit of Right to Education. Elementary education is a noble step but, ensuring the http://www.idfc.com/pdf/report/2012/chapter_3.pdf “education” is also important. Learning level of the student is directly and positively [10] Tucker Shailey (2012). Enhancing Governance in Education. Accountability interrelated to the quality of teaching. It also depends on a student's ability to Initiative. Retrieved from understand and follow the teaching method, including the language and http://www.accountabilityindia.in/accountabilityblog/2541-enhancing- methodology of the teacher. Therefore professional training is very important. governance-education. No doubt, after implementation of RTE lots of improvement has been achieved. But, we must be sincere while implementing the act. Because fulfilling the target is not our priority. Our priority is ensuring quality education for all in elementary level.

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