Lok Sabha Question No. 3549 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-15
Subject: Education to All Children
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Gopal Chinayya Shetty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3549 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  JULY 2019

## Education to All Children

## †3549. SHRI GOPAL CHINNAYA SHETTY:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether providing education to all the children of the country is a constitutional/ legal responsibility of the Government;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the private educational institutions have also been included/proposed to be included in this provision; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) and (b): Yes, Sir. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009  represents  the  consequential  legislation  to  Article  21A  inserted  in  the  Constitution  of India through the Constitution (86 th Amendment) Act 2002.  Section 3 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE), Act, 2009 provides that every child of the age of six to  fourteen  years  shall  have  the  right  to  free  and  compulsory  education  in  a  neighbourhood school till the completion of his or her elementary education (upto class VIII).  The RTE Act, 2009 is applicable in all States and Union Territories except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Section 6 of the RTE Act, 2009, inter alia, mandates the appropriate Government and the local authority  to  provide  for  children's  access  to  elementary  schools  within  the  defined  area  or limits  of  neighbourhood.    The  Central  Government  is  the  appropriate  Government  only  in relation  to  a  school  established,  owned  or  controlled  by  the  Central  Government,  or  the administrator of the Union Territory, having no legislature.  In other cases, State Governments and  UT  Governments  are  the  appropriate  Governments,  in  relation  to  a  school  established within  the  territory  of  a  State  or  a  UT  having  legislature,  respectively.    The  RTE  Act,  2009 inter-alia provides for:

- i. enrolment of a non-admitted child to an age appropriate class.
- ii. the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in  providing  free  and  compulsory  education,  and  sharing  of  financial  and  other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
- iii. the norms and standards for Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in every school, buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours.
- iv. prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
- v. appointment  of  qualified  and  trained  teachers  with  minimum  qualifications  as  laid down by the academic authority.
- vi. prohibition of (a) physical punishment and mental harassment/corporal punishment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition,
- vii. development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child's knowledge, potential and talent through a system of child friendly and child centred learning.

(c) and (d): Section  12  (1)  (c)  of  the  RTE  Act,  2009  provides  that  a  school,  belonging  to specified category and private unaided school, shall admit in class 1 (or lower), to the extent of at least twenty-five per cent of the strength of that class, children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged  group  in  the neighbourhood  and provide  free  and  compulsory  elementary education till its completion.

Section 12 (2) of the RTE Act, 2009 inter alia provides that the private unaided school providing  free  and  compulsory  elementary  education  as  per  section  12  (1)  (c)  shall  be reimbursed expenditure so incurred by it to the extent of per-child-expenditure incurred by the State,  or  the  actual  amount  charged  from  the  child,  whichever  is  less,  as  per  the  State  RTE rules.

The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched an Integrated Scheme for  School  Education  -  Samagra  Shiksha effective  from 2018-19, which subsumes the three erstwhile  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan,  Rashtriya  Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education.  The scheme provides inter alia support to the States and  UTs  for  implementation  of  RTE  Act,  2009  including  reimbursement  of  expenditure incurred by the States and UTs under Section 12 (1) (c) of the RTE Act, 2009.

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