By IANS,
New Delhi: The Right to Education (RTE) Act, which promises to make elementary education compulsory, is now a step closer to being implemented as the central government Friday sent to all states model rules under the legislation.
“The model rules were circulated to the state governments in the meeting of the state education secretaries here,” a Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry official said.
The HRD ministry is deliberating with state education secretaries on several issues pertaining to school education in the country.
During the meet, the central government emphasised the importance of the RTE and urged all states to cooperate to make it a success.
The model rules consist of eight parts. The first part is an introduction and contains relevant definitions, the second is on special training and the third on duties of states and local authorities.
In the fourth part, the HRD ministry has told states about the responsibilities of schools and teachers and in next segment it underlines the composition and functions of the school management committee. The sixth part is on teachers, their duties, minimum qualifications, pay allowances, a grievance mechanism for them and on teacher-student ratio.
In the last two sections, the model rules speak of curriculum and the protection of the rights of children.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009, was passed by parliament to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to 14 years. Though parliament passed the bill last year, it is yet to be enforced. The bill has even got the presidential assent.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal earlier said the “historic” act will be enforced soon.