State of the NatioN: RTE SEcTion 12(1)(c)

160 Pages·2015·1.36 MB·English

State of the NatioN:
RTE SEcTion 12(1)(c)
InTRODUCTIOn
aBoUt the aUthoRS State of the nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) | 3
State of the Nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) report is a
collaborative effort of Indian Institute of Management –
Ahmedabad, Central Square Foundation, Accountability
Initiative (Centre for Policy Research) and Vidhi Centre for
Legal Policy.
IndIan InstItute of Partner organIsatIons
ManageMent – ahMedabad
Prof. Ankur Sarin (Assistant Professor, Public Systems Indian Institute of Management- ahmedabad (IIM-a)
Group) is India’s premier management institute with a mission to
Sunaina Kuhn (Research Associate) transform India and other countries through generating
and propagating new ideas of global significance based on
Central square foundatIon research.
Bikkrama Daulet Singh (Associate Director, Accountability
and Governance) Central square foundation (Csf)
Praveen Khanghta (Programme Manager, Accountability is a venture philanthropy fund and policy think tank
and Governance) focused on improving learning outcomes and quality
of school education for children from low-income
aCCountabIlIty InItIatIve communities in India.
Dr. Ambrish Dongre (Senior Researcher, Accountability
Initiative and Fellow, Centre for Policy Research) accountability Initiative (aI), Centre
Ekta Joshi (Research Analyst, Accountability Initiative) for Policy research
conducts research and seeds reforms to strengthen
vIdhI Centre for legal PolICy accountability systems for public service delivery by
Dr. Arghya Sengupta (Research Director and Senior undertaking research that tracks the planning, budgeting
Resident Fellow) and decision-making systems for key social sector programs
Rukmini Das (Non-Resident Expert) in India; and building citizen capacity to use this evidence
Faiza Rahman (Research Fellow) to participate and monitor government process and catalyze
reforms to improve the quality of public services in India.
vidhi Centre for legal Policy
is an independent legal policy advisory group whose
mission is to achieve good governance in India through
impacting legislative and regulatory design.

aCKNoWLeDGeMeNtS State of the nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) | 5
The report benefitted from the support, guidance and
feedback of the following individuals and organisations.
Partner organIsatIons CIvIl soCIety
The authors are grateful for the support of civil society
Indian Institute of Management- ahmedabad organisations that have been leading the efforts for effective
We thank Prof. Kavitha Ranganathan, Ram Prasad Mushini implementation of this provision. We thank Dr. John
and Chethan Kumar R. for undertaking the difficult task of Kurrien (Director Emeritus, Centre for Learning Resources,
data visualisation. We also thank the dedicated team at RTE Pune), Mayuri (Action for the Rights of the Child, Pune),
Resource Centre- Ashish Ranjan, Advaita Rajendra, Reecha Maitreyi Shankar and Sonali Kunjir (Kagad Kach Patra
Das and Shruti Yerramilli- for continued support, review Kashtakari Panchayat), and Prof. Sharad Javadekar and
and feedback while researching and writing. Rishi Rajvanshi (Pratham) for sharing their insights with us.
Central square foundation exPerts
We thank Subha Ganguly Shahi (Associate Director, We would also like to acknowledge the feedback from
Research) and Rashmi Menon (Research Manager) Prof. R. Govinda (Vice-Chancellor, National University
for valuable feedback on the primary study, Krishnan of Educational Planning and Administration) and
Subbaraman (Fellow, Teach For India) for supporting with Prof. Arun C. Mehta (Professor and Head) and Shri
secondary research, Shrutipriya Dalmia (Associate Director, A.N. Reddy (Assistant Professor) of the Department of
Advocacy and Communications) and Chandrika Deb Educational Management Information System, National
(Communications Manager) for leading the production University of Educational Planning and Administration.
and communication efforts. We owe a special thanks to Prof. Avinash K. Singh (Head
of Department, Educational Policy, NUEPA) and other
accountability Initiative participants of the discussion meet on RTE Implementation
We thank Avani Kapur (Senior Research and Programme organised by NUEPA on November, 24th and 25th, 2014.
Analyst) for guidance on per child recurring cost We also express our heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Nalini Juneja
calculations and Yamini Aiyar (Director) for her continued (Head of Department, School and Non-Formal Education,
support and encouragement. We also thank Ram Ratan NUEPA), Mr. Amit Kaushik (Director, Education and
(Senior PAISA Associate, Rajasthan), Atul Shende (PAISA Skill Development, IPE Global), Smt. Shailaja Chandra
Associate, Rajasthan), Tajuddin Khan (PAISA Associate, (Former Chief Secretary, Delhi) and Sister M. Cyril Mooney
Rajasthan), Ganesh Tak (PAISA Associate, Rajasthan) and (Leading Educationist) for enriching the report with their
Anil Baber (Senior PAISA Associate, Maharashtra) for thoughtful contribution.
providing valuable support in our primary study.
We would also like to share a special note of thanks to all the
governMent schools that cooperated with us in our conduct of the survey
We thank Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar (Secretary, School and shared their learning and experiences with us.
Education Department, Government of Rajasthan), Shri
Vinod Jain (National Informatics Centre, Government We thank Idea Works for report design and Utkarsh Press
of Rajasthan), Smt. Ashwini Bhide (Secretary, School for printing the report.
Education and Sports, Government of Maharashtra), Shri
S. Chockalingham (Commissioner, School Education
Department, Government of Maharashtra), and other
officials of the Governments of Rajasthan and Maharashtra
for helping us better understand the implementation of
Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
CoNteNtS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 03
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 05
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 08
FOREWORD 10
Ashish Nanda 10
Ashish Dhawan 11
COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS 12
NOTE 1: THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS
IN PROVIDING FREE EDUCATION TO ALL CHILDREN 13
Prof. Nalini Juneja
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 15
Section 12(1)(c) in Context 15
The State of the Nation Report 15
Layout of the Report 17
CHAPTER 2: STATE REPORT CARDS 19
Objectives 19
Part A: Assessment of Notifications and Rules 19
Part B: DISE Data Analysis 23
Part C: Limits on Scope of the Analysis 24
Part D: Disparity in DISE and SSA data 26
Part E: State Wise Analysis of Rules and Notifications and DISE Data 28
NOTE 2: REFLECTION ON FORMULATING POLICY AROUND
SECTION 12(1)(c) OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT 114
Amit Kaushik
State of the nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) | 7
CHAPTER 3: LEGAL LACUNAE IN SECTION 12(1)(c)
OF THE RTE ACT AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION 116
Context – Towards Section 12(1)(c) 116
Legal Lacunae in Section 12(1)(c) 117
Recommendations 123
CHAPTER 4: PER CHILD RECURRING COST
AND REIMBURSEMENTS: ISSUES AND WAY FORWARD 126
Issues 126
Suggestions 128
Conclusion 130
NOTE 3: THE RTE EXPERIENCE IN DELHI-GOOD NEWS BUT NOT ALL THE WAY. 132
Shailaja Chandra
CHAPTER 5: LEARNING FROM THE STATES 134
Introduction 134
Part A: Jaipur, Rajasthan 134
Part B: Pune, Maharashtra 138
Part C: Rajasthan and Maharashtra comparison 142
Part D: A guide for implementation 142
NOTE 4: THE POTENTIAL OF CHILDREN FROM
FINANCIALLY AND SOCIALLY WEAKER BACKGROUNDS 144
Sister M. Cyril Mooney
CHAPTER 6: THE WAY FORWARD 147
ANNEXURE 150
eXeCUtiVe SUMMaRY
Segregation in access to education in India had been
escalating since the 1970s when a large number of private
schools capitalized on the opportunity to provide separate
schools for the middle class. This initial segregation was
further perpetuated with a boom in the availability of low-fee
private schools catering towards lower income families. With
the shift of the Right to Education from a Directive Principle
of State Policy to a Fundamental Right, came Section 12(1)(c)
of the Act.
The clause imposes a legal obligation upon private unaided for “green” was 10 and 15 for “red,” demonstrating that more
schools to reserve 25 percent of the seats in the entry- information is left entirely unaddressed in the rules and
level class for children from Economically Weaker Section notifications than is being clarified.
and disadvantaged categories. The intention behind
this provision is to ensure that the states as well as other A majority of states have defined the neighbourhood
stakeholders in society share the obligation of realizing the criteria and the EWS and Disadvantaged Group categories
right to free and compulsory elementary education. The well enough to warrant a “green”. The issue of the authority
increased prevalence of unaided private schools makes them responsible for financing additional expenses such as books
a natural stakeholder to the fulfilment of this obligation. The and uniforms remains vague at best for almost all states
mandate should also be understood as an effort to arrest (25 states received a “red”) while 23 states have not clearly
the increasing segregation in Indian schooling and promote defined their criteria for calculating the reimbursement
an environment of knowledge sharing between different amount also earning a “red”.
sections of society to encourage the narrowing of current
societal divisions. It has the potential to impact 1.6 crore The study uses DISE data from 2012-13 and 2013-14
children from EWS and DG categories in the next eight -- since DISE is the most comprehensive education data
years. set currently available -- to provide a snapshot of the
implementation of the provision in each state.
However, the implementation of this provision faces
numerous challenges. This report looks at Section 12(1)(c) For our analysis we use the variables Seat Fill Rate, School
from the administrative, legal, and financial perspective to Participation Rate, Seats Available and Total Enrolment.
highlight the challenges and to recommend suggestions for States amongst themselves have large variation in their seat
improvement. fill rate. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh cumulatively make
up for half the number of children admitted under this
States have adopted varied methods to implement Section provision while Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have a
12(1)(c). Nevertheless, what remains uniform across the seat fill rate of less than 1% and less than 5% respectively.
states is the unfinished quality of their rules and structures. Rajasthan also has the highest number of schools
The rubric analyses 21 criteria points – critical structures participating.
for successful implementation based on a stakeholder’s
requirements to access the law. Of the 28 states analysed, However, an important caveat that needs to be highlighted
none received an entirely “green” review on the analysis is that there is a fair amount of inconsistency between the
implying that no state had provided complete information DISE data and data in the SSA website, state websites, and
on the processes around implementing Section 12(1)(c); even those reported as response to RTI queries that we had
rules and structures were incomplete/absent and would not filed. These alternative numbers show large differences in
enable a stakeholder to access the law. The national averages the data as compared to each other and as compared to
State of the nation: RTE Section 12(1)(c) | 9
DISE. This points to the necessity of having more reliable Unfortunately, a number of private schools were unwilling
data collection and management systems. to speak to us, but many that did were also poorly informed
about the law.
A close scrutiny of the amounts that different state
governments have promised as reimbursements to schools Maharashtra’s online admission system provides greater
and the processes used to calculate them, also raises freedom to the parents to apply to the schools of their
concerns on the methodologyof calculating per child choice, with schools playing a limited role in admissions.
recurring cost and on the process of reimbursement to the The state also had a strong civil society activism for effective
schools. We suggest building a robust methodology for implementation of the provision. However a complete
cost calculation, its wider dissemination and discussion, online system was also limited by the lack of awareness,
and moving to ‘norm-based’ reimbursement rather than inadequate capacity in government centres and difficulty
actual expenditure. We also suggest reimbursements for in applying online. Also the problem of no reimbursement
pre-primary sections as well as for textbooks and uniforms to the schools increased the tension between the various
provided by the schools. stakeholders.
The legal analysis of Section 12(1)(c) draws attention The report concludes with recommendations for immediate
to various legal issues that states are facing during the and necessary steps that can improve the implementation
implementation of this provision. The chapter examines and impact of Section 12(1)(c). In short these include:
critical issues pertaining to the admission process, the 1. The reversal of minority school exemption
grievance redressal mechanism, the liability of government 2. Addressing gaps in state rules and notifications
to reimburse private schools and the constitutional 3. Reliable data collection practices
implication of the exemption of minority schools from 4. An RTE commission
obligations under the RTE Act. We make recommendations 5. Increased scrutiny and transparency in public funding
for the successful implementation of the legislation and finances of schools
including statutory and constitutional amendments. 6. Investments in social inclusion
The report also shares learning from field studies
conducted in Jaipur, Rajasthan and Pune, Maharashtra
to better understand the implementation process. These
cities/states have innovated unique efforts to systemize
processes and data collection using information technology.
While Maharashtra has developed a system that aids the
admissions process, Rajasthan uses a fairly comprehensive
admission-to-reimbursement system. To evaluate the
potential of these efforts, we tried to understand the
experiences of various stakeholders in the process by
interviewing schools, parents, civil society and the
government officials. Understanding the different – and
sometimes conflicting -- perspectives also provides a deeper
insight into the efficacy with which the policy has been
implemented.
We find Rajasthan’s online admission system to be efficient
and transparent, allowing the processes of verification and
reimbursement to run smoothly with greater accountability.
However, we also found an acute lack of awareness
among parents of eligible children thus preventing them
from availing the benefits of rights granted to them.
foReWoRD
Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act has implications not
only for schools but for society at large. Effective implementation would
lead to social inclusion as well as better educational experience for all
school children. Research can play an important role in facilitating
implementation. I am happy to see IIM-A researchers are collaborating
with researchers from other committed institutions in this important
activity. Partnerships such as this are essential in studying complex policy
issues in a way that is comprehensive and relevant.
I believe the report does a very good job of studying the “state of
implementation” of the provisions so far, and offers a balanced perspective
on the needs, efficacy, and loopholes in the current execution of the
provisions within the Act. The authors have taken care to view the Act
from a holistic perspective and make actionable recommendations. One
of their recommendations is the need for better data on the status of
implementation so as to inform policy formulation and implementation.
Congratulations to the authors of the report. It is heartening to see the
dedicated team at RTE Resource Centre- IIM Ahmedabad, build on
their field-level community engagement and take the lead in a national
research report. I would like to commend Central Square Foundation,
Delhi, for facilitating this partnership and also anchoring effective
collaboration IIM-A and other academic institutions, policy think-tanks,
and practitioners.
I wish the entire team engaged in this project the very best in achieving
their goal of making implementation of the Act effective across
geographies.
dr. ashish nanda
Director
Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad