Right of “Out of School” children in India

A very large number of
our children never get admitted to a school, and they do not complete even
elementary education due to various socio-economic reasons like, migration,
extreme poverty, homelessness of the family, children living or working in
urban slums, in streets, on railway platforms or construction sites, working as
domestic workers, child labourers, tending cattle, working in dhabas, mechanic
shops, and rag pickers and as shoe shine boys etc.


The RTE rules of the
state of Maharashtra defines “Out-of-school child” as a child of the age of 6
to 14 years who has either never been admitted to a school or who, having been
admitted, has not completed elementary education, and it shall include a
student of elementary school being absent for more than a month continuously.
Such children are termed as “Children with special needs”.

The historical “Right
of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009” (RTE) promises to  fulfill the aspirations and dreams of all
such children, who remained out of school or could not complete elementary
education due to various reasons. The RTE Act specifically provides opportunity
for engage all such out-of-school children in the age appropriate classes and
continues support to them till the completion of elementary stage for the
achievement of basic goals.

With a view to bringing
all never enrolled and drop-out children within the ambit of elementary
education, a special provision has been introduced in Chapter II Para 4 of RTE
Act. It reads, “Where a child above six years of age has not been admitted in
any school or though admitted, could not complete his or her elementary
education, then, he or she shall be admitted in a class appropriate to his or
her age.”

This Act provides to
enroll all the children and has held the local authority responsible to
identify, every year, by means of a survey, to be conducted by an officer
notified by the State Government in this behalf, such children who are out of
school, and shall admit them to age appropriate class.

It shall, according to
the need, organize the special training of “out of school” in the 
following manner,
namely:

 (a) the special training shall be based on
specially designed, age appropriate learning tools and materials, approved by
the academic authority specified under section 29 of the Act;



















(b) such a training shall be provided in the
classes held on the premises of the school, or through the classes organized as
authorized bridge courses in safe residential facility, at time other than
normal school hours;

 (c) such training shall be imparted preferably
by teachers working in the school, or by teachers appointed specially for that
purpose

(d) the State Council
of Educational Research & Training shall lay down the time duration for
such training programme;

(e) After admitting
such a child to the age-appropriate class and during the special training and
after he/she completes the special training, the teachers shall give him/her,
the special attention required to help him/her integrate with the class, both
academically and emotionally. 

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