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Oxfam demands full implementation of the RTE Act within next 3 years: Haq Banta Hai

By Oxfam India | | 15 Mar 2015, 01:15 pm

#Oxfam demands full implementation of the RTE Act within next 3 years: Haq Banta Hai

The historic Right to Education (RTE) Act came into force in April 2010. The Act provisions for 8 years of free and compulsory education for all the children between 6 and 14 years. Thanks to RTE Act, today 199 million children are in school and studying. However, still 6 million children are out of school and majority (75%) of those out of school children belong to Dalit (32.4%), Tribal (16.6%) and Muslim (25.7%) communities alone.

While the Act has benefitted many children, it has left behind children belonging to most deprived and marginalised communities. Merely enrolling children is not enough. That's why the Act has clearly laid down standards and norms to ensure that children are in school, happy and learning.

The Government had set a final deadline of 31st March 2015 for full compliance of the Act. However, only 8% of the schools in India comply with all RTE Act norms. 31st March deadline is going to be surly missed. This has a huge impact on retaining those children who are already in school. That is the reason why half of the children who are enrolled in schools in India drop out before completing class 10th. One of the main reasons for this gap is inadequate budgetary allocation to education.

The Kothari commission in 1966 had recommended that public spending on education to be increased to at least 6% of GDP by 1986. Today, nearly after 50 years of accepting this recommendation, public spending on education is hovering around 3.4% of GDP. It has stagnated at around 3% for the last 15 years at a time the country was witnessing unprecedented economic growth. We cannot educated all the children in India with just half the money it takes to educate all the children.

Deepak Xavier, who heads the Haq Banta Hai Campaign at Oxfam India said, “Inequality in India is rising at an alarming rate putting the future of our country at stake. Education is the greatest equalizer against inequality. By ensuring full implementation of RTE Act, we can achieve two things -- (1) quality education for all children and (2) reduction in inequality.”

Xavier further elaborated “We can't be bystanders anymore. We have waited for so long. That's why Oxfam India and its partners are calling on civil society groups and citizens of our country to join the 'Haq Banta Hai' campaign. Haq Banta Hai is a targeted campaign that is asking the Education Minister to issue a clear and accountable road-map to achieve full implementation of the RTE Act within next 3 years. Is this asking for too much? Definitely, not.”

India is one of the fastest growing economies and a middle income country. We sure can afford to give every child the education that its right. What we are asking for is only the minimum that the country should do to its children. After all, India is going to be the world's youngest country by 2020.

(The view expressed in the article is of the organization and not India Blooms News Service)

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