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RTE a hard Act to follow, say Bangalore schools

M Srinivasan, principal, Gear Innovative International School, opined that the implementation of the Act will take time, as it is still at a nascent stage.

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With only two months left for the classes to commence, several schools are concerned about the state government’s threat to initiate action if the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (RTE Act) is not implemented.

M Srinivasan, principal, Gear Innovative International School, opined that the implementation of the Act will take time, as it is still at a nascent stage.

“The government might ask us to implement the Act today, but it is bound to take time,” said Srinivasan.
He also pointed out  that there is a lot of ambiguity about the clauses in the Act.

“The state government is yet to issue clear instructions. We cannot simply increase the number of seats. The government is not yet ready to notify us about the Neighbourhood School concept. We do not know the next step. We just have to see how things unfold,” he said.

There are many questions that need answering, such as when and where the children will be accommodated. It will be possible to implement the Act only next academic year, he added.
Almost every school has completed the admission process.

“We are already done with the admissions. It’s easy to say 25% seats have to be reserved. However, many of the clauses are not practical. We don’t know what kind of punishment will be meted out if the Act is not implemented. It’s all unclear,” said principal of St John’s School, Princess Franklyn.

She said she is not sure of the screening process as well. “Will the ‘government missionaries’ give us a list of deserving candidates? We may also have to check the students’ backgrounds too,” she said.

Archana Vishwanath, principal of Jain Heritage School, said that the schools will have to make it the Act a mandate and implement it.

“There is no fear but we are worried about the challenges. We may have to look at the possibilities of resources, in terms of training teachers and getting more counsellors,” she said.
Parents keep asking the school management about the implementation of the Act. “Parents have many questions about the Act and we are answerable to them,” said Vishwanath.

What we have to look into now is how students from different economic backgrounds will adjust. We need some basic guidelines and a checklist of how students will be screened, “ she said, adding that there are emotional challenges as well.

KP Gopalkrishna, founder & principal of NPS Group of Institutions said they will wait for the state government to give further directions. “A majority of schools will have to bear the brunt of the Act,” he said.

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