RTE: Nullifying notifications, amendments and intact provisions

The Center recently issued a gazette notification that if a child fails to clear a final examination in Classes 5 or 8, they can be held back. This strikes down one of the key provisions of the Right to Education Act 2009 that held no child shall be detained until Class 8. Talking about the spirit of RTE, Anita Rampal, professor and former dean of the Faculty of Education at Delhi University, says that when the RTE was rolled out, the Ministry wrote a note along with the Act that if a child fails, it is we who fail because we have failed to provide the child with good quality environment and resources for learning. Maalathi K R, Founder and CEO at Auuro Educational Services, says the implementation of the ACT has succeeded to some extent especially in schools that follow state curriculum across Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government had released a notification on February 9, 2024 that exempted private schools from providing 25% Right to Education Act quota admissions to disadvantaged and economically weaker students in class 1 and preschool sections within a kilometre radius of government-run or aided schools.