Report of the Committee on Implementation of The Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the Resultant Revamp of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Abstract

The Committee held seven meetings between September 2009 and January 2010, during which it had interaction with State Secretaries of Education, educationists, representatives of teachers’ unions, voluntary organisations and civil society organisations who are in close touch with field realities, and representatives of persons working with children with special needs. Consultation with representatives of teachers’ unions and civil society organisations provided important insights, inter alia, for bringing out-of-school children from disadvantaged sections into age appropriate class, care and support in mainstream schools for children with special needs, education for girls, importance of forging partnerships with voluntary agencies and civil society organisations for developing capacities of school management committees (SMCs) to formulate school development plans, realigning teacher education and training systems to build learning on children’s experiences and pre-knowledge. Additionally, interaction with State Secretaries of Education provided valuable inputs on issues relating to the nature of central assistance, implementation structure for SSA and RTE, and fund transfer mechanism for SSA and RTE. A list of persons who participated in the consultations is attached at Annex II.