India’s schools are falling behind in implementing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which mandates free and compulsory education for all Indian children ages 6-14. This act was approved in 2009, but recent surveys by the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and UNICEF show that the state of education has not improved much since then.
In the Indian state of Bihar, there is an average of 82 students per classroom, and one teacher for 57 students, which is similar to the ratios in 2009 as well. Additionally, Bihar’s schools have not seen an improvement on infrastructure and facilities including kitchens, libraries, playgrounds, potable water facilities, and bathrooms.
Bihar’s Principal Secretary of Education also states that there are positive changes being made. He claimed that the process for teacher recruitment is ongoing and believes that the state will achieve a 40:1 student to teacher ratio by November, as compared to the 57 at present.
The problem extends outside the state of Bihar, as Mumbai (Bombay) also has similar mismanagement. A recent survey shows that there are around 82 posts in different branches of the Mumbai education department that are vacant.
Many activists are shocked at the lack of changes. Chetan Pednekar, vice-president of the Maharashtran Nationalist Party, is angry: “Everybody is talking about implementing RTE for the benefit of the students, but with so many posts lying vacant in the Mumbai education department, how are the officials planning to tackle the problem?”
When contacted, Mumbai’s Assistant Deputy Director of Education N B Chavan stated that some of the vacant spots had been filled. He also added that when senior officers are transferred to education departments across the state, vacancies are created. He claims that “this has never affected our work and we ensure that the responsibility is shared aptly so that there are no loopholes.”
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