Left-wing education association opposes Right to Education Act, says RTE promotes private investors in India

By A Representative
In an unusual move, the left-wing All-India Save Education Committee (AISEC), in its comprehensive critique of the Government of India’s proposed New Education Policy (NEP), has strongly opposed the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, declaring that it “straightaway paves the path for private investors” to get into the education of children and “legalizes” commercialization of education.
Claiming to uphold the cause of education and formed in 1989, AISEC – once led by late Justice VR Krishna Iyer, former Justice of the Supreme Court, and late Sushil Kumar Mukherjee, renowned scientist-educationist, and currently headed by Prof NA Karim , ex-vice chancellor, Kerala University – believes that emphasis on the RTE is being “wrongly placed by the present BJP-led Union government.”
The AISEC critique says that the RTE “does not cover all students, education at all levels even at the elementary stage”, pointing out that it has come “sequel of another flopped flagship programme of the former UPA government, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).”
Thus, while the RTE “pledges” to universalise elementary education” from standards 1 to 8, it “does not bother for children below 6 and above 14, the AISEC critique, which has been submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, as its views on NEP, says. It adds, the RTE, in fact, “abdicates the government from funding education at least at those stages”, wondering, “Who then will shoulder that responsibility?”
The critique underlines, the RTE in fact “straightaway” paves the path for private investors to get into the scene for “unchecked” privatization of pre-6 year education”, thus “legalizing” privatization and commercialization of education. It does so, even as the current BJP policymakers continue to “shed crocodile tears for mushrooming of pre-primary/ play school industry.”
Opposing the RTE for following the system of “multi-grade teaching with the labels ‘child-centred’ and ‘activity-oriented’ approach”, AISEC says, this was stipulated by such programmes like the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and SSA, both of whom are “offspring programmes of the World Bank and the International Monetery Fund (IMF).”
Pointing to how RTE refuses to promote quality education, AISEC says, “Forget about the few shining Kendriya Vidyalaya of the metropolis and other cities, in the vast hinterland of the country, a single teacher, maybe a para-teacher, appointed on contract basis, and figured as a ‘classroom manager’ (mind it, not class teacher) look after a number of classes, maybe even in a single room.”
It underlines, “These teachers are supposed to work for 45 hours a week, and would have to work for, as and when required and compulsorily, to do census duty, election duty, disaster relief work etc.; would have to prepare midday meals for students, keep accounts of the groceries, fuel and such other items, even chase after students across fields to lure them back to school. It befalls students to learn by themselves.”
Then, AISEC opposes RTE for legalizing the “no pass-fail system up to the level of class VIII”, and admitting students according to their age (a 14 year child to Class VIII) and “not according to his or her prevailing academic standard.”
Further, AISEC says RTE pertains to government-run or general aided schools alone. It notes, “high-priced” private controlled schools are “exempt” from all government controls and restrictions, making room for only the rich to enjoy the best of facilities for education. “They will get the best of amenities and will have the examination system for checking and improving performance.”
AISEC adds, “They will retain the class promotion system as usual. The RTE Act thus stands out as highly discriminatory giving way to catering to the Minimum Level Learning (MLL) education for a vast work force and Optimum Level Learning (OLL) education for a handful of elites from private schools.”
“The whole outreach programme for secondary level education in the proposed education policy, a programme for ‘near universalization of secondary education’ as a ‘logical next step’, hinges upon such a deceitful, discriminatory measure of the RTE that is detrimental to students, teachers and education as a whole”, AISEC believes.

Comments

Unknown said…

Information is very informative also you get same from TypicalStudent.com, this is the great resource to get such type of information about university education.

September 25, 2018

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

School job scam and the future of university degree holders in West Bengal

By Harasankar Adhikari The school recruitment controversy in West Bengal has emerged as one of the most serious governance challenges in recent years, raising concerns about transparency, institutional accountability, and the broader impact on society. Allegations that school jobs were obtained through irregular means have led to prolonged legal scrutiny, involving both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In one instance, a panel for high school teacher recruitment was ultimately cancelled after several years of service, following extended judicial proceedings and debate.

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Search This Blog