IDEAS TO HELP IMPLEMENT RTE

NCERT Committee Says One Body Should Oversee Education

Akshaya Mukul TNN

New Delhi: Road marshals drawn from NCC and NSS to help children cross roads to and from schools, arranging birth certificates for all children in schools and an incentive for children who identify out-of-school kids are some of the big-ticket recommendations by an NCERT appointed committee to develop a framework for implementation of the Right to Education Act in Delhi.

Delhi government has been asked to waive off stamp duty on the affidavit regarding date of birth of the child to be submitted to the school for admission. The committee, said Delhi government, should authorize the head of the school to attest the affidavit.

The committee also recommended that school education in the Capital should be managed by one unified body. As of now, schools in Delhi are managed by MCD, NDMC and Delhi government.

The committee, headed by lawyer-activist Ashok Aggarwal, said the proposed body should also give approval to all proposed academic changes, such as of textbooks, pattern of evaluation, medium of instruction etc. it should also be consulted for closing down any school.

HRD minister Kapil Sibal might have wanted that private schools recognized under the RTE Act be spared of giving government school salaries but the committee has recommended protection of state salaries for teachers in private schools recognized under RTE Act. In exceptional cases, it said, grant-in-aid for payment of salaries of teachers could be considered.

The committee said children can be used to identify children who are for some reason not in school. An incentive of about Rs 50 could be given to children who identify a child to be brought to school. The committee has also asked for establishment of police beats (with woman police constables) at schools for girls to ensure safety and security of students.

The committee said there should be a unified website for all state and state recognized schools in Delhi with report cards and reports of a child’s progress on continuous and comprehensive evaluation supplemented with remarks of the school management committee.

To bring about a big change in the method of recruitment, the committee said the heads of schools need not be appointed by seniority alone. Therefore, it said 75% of school principals be selected through direct recruitment and only 25% through limited departmental examination.

Times of India, New Delhi
Friday, March 05, 2010