The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 states that every child in India has a right to a full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school that satisfies certain essential norms and standards. Even a cursory reading of the law indicates that it covers every child in the age group six to 14. It is clear that it is the government’s responsibility to guarantee this right to quality schooling for all.

But the head of education department in East Siang district hit the bull’s eye when he pointed out the absence of preparatory classes in government schools as the root cause of declining quality of education. It is true that there is no provision to deal with the children in the age group 4 to 5 years under RTE and children are admitted in class I without the basic knowledge of pre-primary/nursery classes. Government schools across Arunachal admit children in class I, majority of them without any knowledge of alphabets and numerical which a child of this standard is expected to know at a private set up.

If today, the entire state is worried about the quality of its students, it is more or less a lost cause as foundation itself is shaky. In a anti-clockwise direction, focus is more on higher education instead of building strong foundations. How do we expect our high schoolers or collegians to perform when their educational understanding has been compromised in their growing period.

Thanks to the strict implementation of the RTE, whether from government or other sources, all currently available information shows that India is close to universal enrolment. In that sense, schooling is close to being “guaranteed”. Now comes the issue of quality education. 

Arunachal which is facing a growing unemployment problem must understand that namesake education is also responsible adding to it. Every year, thousands of students pass out from colleges but leaving aside few a large chunk is unemployable. Though this issue seems far removed but it is a result of the skewed educational emphasis.

The RTE was formulated to guarantee education to all our children; it is time that this right began to include a guarantee for learning, and that our policies and practices enabled concrete steps to improve children’s basic learning.

 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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