Only 12.7% schools comply with Right to Education, progress just 1% per year

Counterview Desk
A civil society report written in the shadow of the upcoming national elections, marking the completion of five years of the i.e Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), has sought to focus on its performance against the backdrop its Election Manifesto 2014 "Ek Bhatat Shreshtha Bharat… Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas", which made a number of commitments on education.
Analysing what was promised and what was delivered, the report says, "All major political parties gave considerable amount of space to education along with other issues of social welfare such as health, food and employment in their manifestoes", regretting, the present government's performce suggests, "It will take India another 87 years to make every school Righ to Education (RTE) compliant."
Pointing out that progress under RTE is "inching at an average of 1% per year", the report, prepared by Right to Education Forum, Campaign against Child Labour and Alliance for the Right to Early Childhood Development, says, "The upcoming national elections provide an opportunity for India’s citizens to demand that India’s leaders express their commitment to quality education from birth to 18 years of age and take concrete immediate steps to ensure improvement in its quality and equity education."
Insisting that "India can no longer permit the existing gross inequalities in the education system to persist; poor education must no longer be deemed acceptable for India’s development", the report says, the RTE Act, 2009, carried with it "dreams and aspirations of many who hoped for its successful implementation, as it was set out to correct years of injustice, discrimination, inequality and lack of opportunities."
Planning to launch a national campaign to demand the right to quality education for all children from birth until the age of 18 years and ensure an end to child labour, a civil society note on the report:
The 9th national stocktaking convention of RTE Act 2009 organized by the RTE Forum at the Constitution club of India brought together more than 450 education activists, academicians and researchers across the country working on children’s education. A report card of the progress on school education in general and RTE implementation in particular was shared. Some of the highlights of the same included:

Only 12.7% schools comply with the provisions of the RTE Act
While the manifesto committed the government to spend 6% GDP on education, the investment never crossed 4%. Per child investment on school education lowest among BRICS countries.
18.8% teachers lack requisite academic qualifications as India stands at the threshold of the extended deadline for all teachers to gain formal qualifications by March 31, 2019. There are also approximately 10 lakh teacher vacancies in India. While the manifesto emphasized science popularization, only 50.3% secondary schools had a teacher who was at least a maths graduate
Despite the BJP Manifesto promising making all education institutions technology enabled, only 16% schools had a functional computer in 2016-17
Only 22% schools have disabled friendly toilets and these are not gender disaggregated - 56% of allocation on Flagship scheme on Girls’ Education “Beti Padhao Beti Bachao” has been spent on advertising. In 2019 these funds were further cut from an already inadequate Rs.255.9 crore to just Rs.100 crore
Government failed to deliver on its promise of a New Education Policy at the end of five years
Lack of emphasis on foundational investments in early childhood education which is critical for universalization of education till secondary level as promised in the manifesto
Progressive dilution to the RTE legislation through three amendments, including the abrogation of the centre’s responsibility to ensure no child is detained.

The upcoming General Elections 2019, give a big opportunity to India’s citizens to demand right to education for all children from birth to 18 years from their political leaders.
Setting the context at the consultation Ambarish Rai, National Convener, RTE Forum said, “This is a watershed moment where citizens have to come together to ensure education becomes a prime agenda for the elections. Governments must take steps to compensate for almost a decade of inaction on ensuring the right to education.”
Prof Narendra Jadhav, MP, Rajya Sabha, said that, “education in at the heart of the process of social transformation and empowerment of India’s marginalized communities. It is critical to strengthen India’s schools to ensure every child receives quality education”.

Comments

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Reshaping welfare policy? G-RAM-G marks the end of rights-based rural employment

By Ram Puniyani With the Ram Janmabhoomi Rath Yatra, the BJP’s political strength began to grow. From then on, it started projecting itself as a “party with a difference.” Gradually, the party’s electoral success graph kept rising. However, many thinkers and writers did not find this particularly worrying at the time, as they saw little difference between the BJP and the ruling Congress. The BJP’s real face began to emerge when it became the principal party of the NDA led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It first came to power for two brief tenures—13 days and then 13 months—and subsequently governed for nearly six years with Vajpayee as Prime Minister. During this period, many of these writers began to understand that the BJP was indeed a “different kind” of party, as even then the process of undermining democratic values and norms had begun. During the first term of the UPA government, several schemes were implemented that were based on the concept of “rights.” These included the right...

Search This Blog