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

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.

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Gujarat government urged to introduce heat-stress safety rules for construction workers

By A Representative A representation submitted to Gujarat Labour, Skill Development and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya has urged the state government to introduce legally enforceable safety standards to protect construction workers from extreme heat and heatwaves, and to launch a financial assistance scheme for labourers affected by climate-related health risks.

Search This Blog