By India Tomorrow News,
New Delhi, 14 Jan 2014: A two-day National Convention on “Three Years of Completion of the RTE Act” began on 14 Jan here in the national capital. The convention, jointly organized by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and UNICEF, aims to monitor the progress for the Right To Education (RTE) Act that came into effect in April 2010.
In the inauguration speech, Minister of Women & Child Development, Krishna Tirath said that it was the responsibility of the government to provide and ensure free elementary education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years.
She continued by saying that the NCPCR and its state chapters should monitor out-of-school children to facilitate their access and participation in the schooling system. This would include children who have never enrolled or dropped out, children who are temporarily absent, and children who are permanent migrants or migrate seasonally.
Also at the convention was Secretary of Education and Literacy, R. Bhattacharya, who stated the progress that had been made by the states and Union Territories on meeting the standards given in the schedule of the RTE Act. He highlighted that 98% of the habitation in the country now have elementary schools within 1 km and 92% have upper primary schools within 3 kms of their locations.
The inaugural program also featured UNICEF Country Representative, Louis-Georges Arsenault and Member of Planning Commission Dr. Narendra Jadhav.
