Will Gujarat govt deliver RTE promises?

The Supreme Court's landmark verdict in the field of primary education has brought a new ray of hope for poor students striving for better education. However, awareness among people will be a key issue for successful implementation of the scheme.

There are 1,745 primary schools run by private trusts in Ahmedabad district including 1,045 in Ahmedabad city. Going by the 25% reservation for students of economically weaker section in private primary schools, 40,000-odd poor students will be benefited by Right to Education (RTE) in Ahmedabad district alone. However, the procedure devised by the government for implementation as well as awareness among masses will play a crucial role in success of this Act.

RP Gupta, secretary of primary education of Government of Gujarat, said that he was not aware of the Supreme Court's verdict of Thursday. "However, there is some confusion about implementation of certain provisions of the Act, which will be cleared only when the central government devises some procedure or directs the states to do the same," said Gupta.

On the other hand, officials also believe that even though Gujarat has implemented the Act, there is dire need for spreading awareness about it in the society. "If you ask 10 private schools in your area, you will know that hardly anyone from EWS families applied for admission in these schools," said MM Jani, district education officer of primary education of Ahmedabad district (Rural).

He said that EWS families should contact private schools within the radius of one kilometre of their residences to get their children enrolled in the school. It should be noted that as per rules of RTE, EWS students' fee will be borne by the state government.

Educationists and community leaders term the judgment of the apex court excellent. They believe that, if implemented effectively, it could help all the weaker sections of the society to get better education.

However, community leaders are worried that the Act may not be implemented effectively by the state government.

Talking to DNA, the chairman of Brahma Samaj, Ahmedabad, RC Mehta said, "The reservation is based on financial status and not on any caste or sub-group division. Hence, it will entitle all the weaker sections to benefits."

The central government has designed the Act which will ensure education for all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. However, the state government has also to play an important role to effectively implement the law. "The state government has to provide the fees of the 25% of the students from weaker segments of the society to the schools," city-based educationist Dr Ketan Anand told DNA.

"If not properly monitored, this Act is of no use," executive director, Navsarjan, Manjula Pradeep told DNA. Citing the example of the atrocity Act, she said that the act is good and is even implemented, but since there is no provision to monitor it effectively, it sometimes becomes toothless.