Chandigarh, June 1 The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) today introduced changes in the draft of the National Education Policy-2019. One of the amendments aims at extending the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, up to Class XII. There will be government provision for free and compulsory education for all children between the age of three years and 18 years — from the foundational stage through the complete secondary stage. Presently, provisions of the RTE Act are limited from Class I to VIII. Through the new policy, the ministry wants to make sure that all students, particularly those from the underprivileged and disadvantaged sections, have an opportunity to participate in high-quality schooling right from the early childhood. The right to free and compulsory education, as guaranteed by the RTE Act, will now include early childhood education prior to Class I and up to Class XI and XII. IT-based system Admissions of students from the disadvantaged sections, under Clause 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, will be fairly and completely implemented in all private schools. A transparent public IT platform-based system, as is already being used in some states, will be developed and used for such admissions. The Clause 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, which mandates 25 per cent reservation of students belonging from economically weaker section (EWS), will be reviewed in light of the policy and in accordance with any positive or negative experience encountered over the past decade. Schools misusing the RTE Act The ministry viewed the Clause 12(1)(c) as being “misused” by certain private schools by inflating the number of children admitted from the socio-economically disadvantaged groups, by charging fee from these students over and above the state reimbursement, and/or by treating these students in a discriminatory manner. Judicial exemption granted by the Supreme Court was also termed as being misused by certain schools — by claiming minority status when the school is not serving that minority group. The draft stated: “The Clause 12 (1) (C) has been implemented with mixed effect, including opening up a variety of possibilities for corruption, manufacturing of fake student numbers and certificates, increase in fee (including the amount collected under other guises), lobbying to attain minority status to avoid the clause, and more.”

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