Sibal proposes extension of RTE

The minister said the right of a child to 10 years of free and compulsory education needs to be carried forward

jasleen

Jasleen Kaur | June 7, 2011



HRD minister Kapil Sibal proposed to extend the Right to Education up to the secondary (class 10) level in the 58th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) here on Tuesday.

While addressing the CABE, the oldest advisory body on education, Sibal said the right of a child to 10 years of free and compulsory education needs to be carried forward by the central and state governments in the decade ahead. Already, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, promising free education at the secondary level, is in place.

A CABE committee has been constituted to prepare a legislative draft in three months time on nature of legislation. The committee will have state education ministers, members of civil society and educationists. Once the draft is prepared it will be open to discussion with all stake holders like teachers, students and members of civil society.

The minister also stressed the need to ensure quality in educational delivery towards bringing down drop-out rates.

To integrate vocational education and skill development, Sibal said it was essential to develop a set of nationally recognised qualifications tailoring the qualifications to the requirements of industry.

The National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) proposed in the agenda aims to embed vocational education in the educational system providing for horizontal and vertical mobility for youth to seamlessly move from general to vocational education.

The minister also informed that the centre is proposing a legislation to prevent and prohibit adoption of malpractices in school education (essentially to prevent the rule of money power in this sector) for which he sought suggestions and views from the state governments. He said that this legislation could be modeled on the lines a similar legislation on prevention of unfair practices in higher education already introduced in the parliament.

The minister underlined the role of state governments in preparing this framework. He also said an element of diversity must be built into the education system to enable mobility.

Comments

 

Other News

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That

When algorithms decide and children die

The images have not left me, of dead and wounded children being carried in the arms of the medics and relatives to the ambulances and hospitals. On February 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury, cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school – officially named a girls’ school, in Minab,

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter