Question : Right to Education

(a) whether the Government has made any assessment of the implementation of Right to
Education Act, its effect on the quality and standard of education and the coverage of the
said Act in the country and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether it is a fact that there is a significant reduction reported in the number of out of
school children in 6-14 age group after the implementation of the said Act and if so, the
details thereof;

(c) whether there is a gap between sanctioned and utilised funds under the said Act during
the last three years and current year and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise along
with the reasons therefor and the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(d) whether it is a fact that the RTE Act stipulates no child can be held back regardless of
their performance upto eighth grade and this provision has a detrimental effect on
learning outcomes of the students and if so, the views of the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)
(a): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, effective
from 1st April, 2010, is being implemented throughout the country, except in Jammu & Kashmir
for universalization of quality elementary education. The Central Government reviews and
monitors implementation of the Act periodically with the States and Union Territories at
different fora, including the State Education Ministers’ Conferences. An independent concurrent
financial review is also undertaken to cover all States within two years. Annual data on
educational outcomes are collected through Unified District Implementation System of
Education (UDISE) every year. The status of these evaluations and monitoring is placed in the
public domain on the Ministry’s website.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been designated
as the vehicle for implementing the provisions of the RTE Act, 2009. The SSA programme is
reviewed twice every year by a Joint Review Mission (JRM) comprising independent experts
and members of external funding agencies, covering all States by rotation. The National
Achievement Surveys (NAS) were conducted by the National Council of Educational Research
and Training (NCERT) once in three years for classes III, V & VIII in government and
government aided schools to review trends in learning level.
In order to focus on quality education, the Central RTE Rules have been amended on
20th February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes. The
Learning Outcomes for each class in Languages (Hindi, English and Urdu), Mathematics,
Environmental Studies, Science and Social Science up to the elementary stage have, accordingly,
been finalized and shared with all States and UTs. These would serve as a guideline for States
and UTs to ensure that all children acquire appropriate learning level. From the year 2017-18, it
has been decided that an assessment of learning outcomes would be conducted for Classes III, V
& VIII as a sample survey at district level.
(b) Yes, Madam. There has been a significant reduction in the number of out of school
children in the 6–14 years age group, from 81 lakh in 2009 to 61 lakh in 2014.
(c): Under the SSA, the outlay or estimates of expenditure to States and UTs in terms of
Section 7(2) of the RTE Act, 2009 are made in the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B) as
per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme, which includes the share of both the
centre and state. The approved outlay is apportioned between central and state share as per the
existing funds sharing pattern of 60:40 (90:10 for North-Eastern States and 3 Himalayan States).
100% central share is provided to Union Territories without Legislature. The release of Central
share are subject to, amongst other things, the mandatory submission of the requisite documents
such as utilization certificate, up-to date expenditure statement, audit report, the release of
commensurate state share by States and the availability of budgetary resources at the Budget
Estimate/Revised Estimate stage. The state-wise details of allocation/estimates (including state
share), release of central share and expenditure (including state share) under SSA during the last
three years and current year are at Annexure.
(d): Section 16 of RTE Act, 2009 stipulates that “No child admitted in a school shall be held
back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education.”
In pursuance of a resolution adopted in the 59th meeting of the Central Advisory Board
of Education (CABE) held on 6th June, 2012, a Sub-Committee was constituted for assessment
of implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of No-
Detention provision in the RTE Act, 2009. The Sub-Committee submitted its report in August,
2014. The report of the Sub-Committee was placed before CABE in its meeting held on
19.8.2015, wherein it was decided to request all States and UTs to share their views on the No-
Detention policy. Another sub-committee under the chairpersonship of Minister of Education,
Government of Rajasthan was constituted on 26.10.2015, inter-alia, to review the feedback
received from States and UTs on the ‘No-Detention’ Policy. 28 States have shared their views on
the No Detention policy out of which 23 States have suggested modification to the No Detention
policy. A meeting of CABE was held on 25.10.2016, where it was decided that the Central
Government may bring in suitable amendment to the RTE Act, 2009. The matter is, therefore,
under the active consideration of the Ministry.