As we know that the RTE
Act has made it very clear that, every child of the nation is entitled to get
free, compulsory and quality education. The aim of the Act is not to simply
increase the rate of literacy, but to produce well educated children ready to take
the mantle of nation building. So, the quality education being the most
challenging component of this legal enactment demands to create a favourable
and congenial learning space, where the overall development of children may
took place. The basic idea behind this
provision is unless a suitable environment is not provided to a learner; he/she
won’t be able to produce the desired result. Hence, the proper seating
arrangement to sanitation, adequate number of teachers and other basic
facilities are necessary.
Act has set a standard of minimum infrastructure for primary schools in the
country for the first time ever. It is now the law that every school must have
a class teacher for every class, drinking water, toilets and sports facilities
etc. These are known as minimum infrastructure norms and it is also known as
ten norms. These norms are regulations that define the infrastructural
conditions required to make a school a school. These minimum standards lay down
the basic level of infrastructure that every school must meet in order to
function properly and provide student friendly environment.
is government run or a private, has to meet these ten basic requirements.
parameters to ensure the quality of education are here as under:
water,
toilets for girls and boys,
teacher for 30 pupils (1 for 35 in Upper primary)/ 1 class per teacher /200
working days per year,
wall,
for kitchen,
(for the disabled)
and
headroom.
norms are required to ensure the availability of good learning environment, but
it is a matter of great concern that a large number of schools fail to comply
with RTE norms. The UNICEF report said
that many schools in the state did not have even five of the 10 provisions. It
is also a fact that, large number of schools is with the government and local
bodies in the state.
1.62 crore children have been enrolled in the elementary schools across
Maharashtra of which 63.3 lakh are studying in the government managed schools,
97 lakh in private institutes and 77,700 in the schools still unrecognized.
on the infrastructure in schools released in August 2013 only 7,355 of the
67,718 government schools in the state had fulfilled all 10 infrastructure
indicators laid down by the act. As many as 3,711 schools did not meet even
half the norms.
Information System of Education (DISE: 2013-14) survey conducted by the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (Maharashtra) reveals that only 23,099 out of 1.05 lakh
elementary schools (22%) are able to qualify on 10 indicators mandated under
the Act.
President of BMC Teachers Association said that, “The RTE Act came into
effect in 2010. Even after four years, neither Maharashtra nor other states
have implemented it effectively. The state lacks the will power to crack down
on private managements. We have approached the Bombay high court in this regard
so that the court can compel the government to act seriously towards the
overall development of the children.”