Karnataka acts to restore child’s lost years

Children joining school late need not start from the scratch and be a misfit in their peer group anymore as they can now join primary school directly based on their age.

The state department of education had issued an official order recently under the Right to Education Act (RTE) stating that children between six and 14 years be admitted to schools.

This mainly applies to dropouts and those who have not yet entered school. The order said, “A child over six years old, who has not entered school or left the school in between and not completed primary education, should be admitted to school as per his/her age. For example, if the child is 11 years old and not admitted to school till today, can be admitted to class six directly.”

The challenge lies for the teachers to educate such children who join school late, for which the department suggested conducting special classes.

“The special classes must be taken for at least three months to one year, based on the child’s capacity to grasp and learn,” said an official from the department.

Officials say that teachers should teach the main topics and basics of the preceding class, in the special classes. “If the child is admitted to class six directly and cannot read or write, then it is the teachers’ responsibility to prepare the child. They need to begin with the alphabets, so that within a year, the child’s knowledge should be at par with his peers,” they said.

This will be one of the prominent provisions to be included in the draft rule of RTE, which will be finalised by the state government soon. This rule has been framed under the Sections 4 and 5 of the RTE Act.  

Teachers reacted to the provision saying it would be  challenging, but they are manageable. “Of course, it is a tough task. When the RTE is implemented in the state, we all have to share the responsibility along with the government. One benefit of training these students will be that they will be mentally able to grasp things easily,” said Amarendra Chakkere, teacher at a government higher primary school in Bangalore North district.