Right To Education Watch And RTE Forum

Background : Right to Education Act was launched in the state Chhattisgarh in the year 2010. It is an Act which ensures right to compulsory education to every child. This Act also ensures that all the schools (either government or private) will have minimum basic facilities laid out in the RTE Act and no school can violate the norms and standards of the Act. It ensures free and compulsory education to all the children of 6 to 14 years of age in nearby school including the Children With Special Need. Further, the Act protects the rights of out of school children (either never enrolled or dropout) by allowing them to take admission in a class appropriate to their age. The Act also says that if there is no school facility within the reach of children, state government will be liable to open a school in that vicinity.

For the implementation of the Right to Education at ground level, the role of community is as equally important as the role of government functionaries. Hence the Civil Societies Organizations, CSOs at the ground level can play meaningful role to coordinate between communities and the government to achieve the RTE compliance status for the schools. For this an RTE forum has been formed where the organization is an active member. This initiative is supported by UNICEF.

Objectives : To strengthen the implementation of the RTE Act in Chhattisgarh through a Dynamic Social Audit program such as the RTE Watch. Also to develop as a regional resource centre for education.

Project area : Bastar, Dantewada and Kondagaon districts of Chhattisgarh.

Undertake the RTE Watch social audit exercise directly in selected schools – this includes regular data collection and analysis, involving key stakeholders such as parents, teachers and community representatives. Facilitate school/community, cluster, block and district level actions to demonstrate the realization of the RTE Act in these selected schools.

Support and mentor interested and committed CSOs in the region who are part of the program; from time to time, scout for potential CSOs who can join this program.

Build own capacities to become a regional resource centre for education. To guide the partner organizations in intervening in pilot schools in the project area.

Results : The organization has been successfully implementing the project and engaged more than 4 partner organization to whom it guides. Further, the organization is a strategic unit in the RTE forum formed.

Challenges : Since this is an ongoing project, there are many challenges as there is media involved into it. Some of the challenges include media handling, addressing subjectivity in taking a decision, community response, political interference, handling the partners, retaining the trained field workers, dealing concurrently with the education department as the lacunas in the schools are highlighted, strained relation with the department.