RTE's Step Towards Establishing Universal Edu'n

Establishing the Universal Education is now a strong measure taken up by RTE Act. CN Nambi, the director of the centre for social education and development said; by reserving 25% of the seats at private schools for students from economically weaker section's may not serve the purpose.

He was speaking at the seminar that was organised by the Press Institute of India (PTI) and UNICEF on 'Right to Education and the Role of Media' at Bharathiar University on Wednesday. He said, by doing this, the government is indicating that private schools provide better education than government schools.

He added that "Almost half of the total budet allocated for education will have to be spent on reimbursing those in the economically weaker section. This will drain much of the resources ear marked for the project. The government should improve public schools, besides constructing new ones."

M.Jayakumar the Dean at the Faculty of Education, Bharathiar University said; "Despite this, our primary educational system should learn from the neighbourhood education system of United States.In America, the area where you live decides which public school your child is eligible to go to. Thus, there is a good mix of students.

He further explained that there were some clauses in the RTE that do more harm than good. One such example is the mandatory promotion of each student during his primary education, regardless of his academic performance. "Students may not take their studies seriously if they are sure to be promoted. This could have an adverse impact on what they are getting out of the education system. Students need strong incentive to study", he added.