Mehendale, Archana and Mukhopadhyay, Rahul
(2014)
Inclusion in private
unaided schools:
has RTE paved the way?
Learning Curve (23).
pp. 10-12.
Abstract
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009 (henceforth RTE Act), has been,
within its relatively short lifespan so far, both hailed
and pilloried by educationists, policy makers, civil
society actors, institutional representatives from
private and government school systems, and
parents’ groups. The ‘25 per cent provision’ for
inclusion of marginalised children in private schools
under Section 12 (1) (c) of the Act has generated
considerable public debate and media attention,
and led to sharply polarised positions among
different sections of society. At an official level, the
provision has been defended on the grounds of
ensuring inclusion of the marginalised children in
the private schools that are perceived as schools
offering better ‘quality education’ and on the
premise that the private schools must also
contribute to the national goal of universalising
education. Private schools, in particular, have
challenged this provision in the Courts. In April
2012, in Society for Unaided Private Schools of
1 Rajasthan v. Union of India , the Supreme Court
upheld the constitutional validity of the Act and
directed private schools, both unaided and non-
m i n o r i t y, to i m p l e m e nt t h i s p ro v i s i o n . Subsequently, in May 2014, the Constitution Bench
of the Supreme Court held that RTE Act shall not
2apply to minority schools . Thus, the provision
requiring private schools to provide free and
compulsory education to 25 per cent of their
grade 1/pre-primary students does not apply to
minority institutions.
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