Admissions of Poor Children on Priority in New Academic Session

• 15 May 2024

Why in News?

The Rajasthan government has taken up the admissions of children from underprivileged sections in private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009 on priority for the next academic session.

Key Points

• According to the sources, over 3.08 lakh children had applied for admissions to 31,857 private schools in the State.
  • 25% of the seats in the private schools would be filled up with the students belonging to weaker sections of society.
• The Directorate of Elementary Education has made a provision for RTE admissions to the pre-primary classes and Class 1 in the schools, while fixing the age limit for the two categories.
  • The children from three to four years of age are admitted to pre-primary classes and those between six and seven years are eligible to get admission to Class 1.
• A large number of private schools in the State have expressed concerns about the admission of students to the pre-primary classes, as the category was added in 2023-24 without any clear guidelines for payment of fees by the government for three years until a student is promoted to Class 1.

Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009

• The Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009 provided free and compulsory education to children in 2009 and enforced it as a fundamental right under Article 21-A.
• The RTE Act, 2009 aims to provide primary education to all children aged 6 to 14 years.
• Section 12(1)(c) mandates that non-minority private unaided schools should reserve at least 25% of seats in entry-level grades for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged backgrounds.
• It also makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.
• It also states about sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
  • Education in the Indian constitution is a concurrent issue and both centre and states can legislate on the issue.
• It lays down the norms and standards related to: Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), Buildings and infrastructure, School-working days, Teacher-working hours.
• It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
• It provides for the appointment of teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.
• It prohibits
  • Physical punishment and mental harassment.
  • Screening procedures for admission of children.
  • Capitation fee.
  • Private tuition by teachers.
  • Running of schools without recognition.
• It focuses on making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centered learning.