Identifying loopholes and assessing the efficacy of the RTE law

Abstract

The Right to Education Act, 2009, was a landmark bill that guaranteed the right to free and compulsory education to every child aged between 6 and 14 years within the country. Section 12(1)(c) of this Act stipulates that all private unaided non-minority schools within the country must reserve 25% of their seats for children belonging to socially and economically backward classes. A widely contested clause of the act, it has seen a lot of backlash and poor implementation over the years. This report is an attempt to understand the design, implementation, and impact of the same within the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra by looking at the section through the lens of the multiple stakeholders involved. The report also attempts to understand the major drawbacks within this implementation and how the government and the other stakeholders can act towards improving the situation. Keywords: Right to Education, Section 12(1)(c), Gujarat, Maharashtra, private unaided schools.