The alleged discrimination against children admitted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act quota has spurred a group of 15 NGOs to form a joint task force to address such cases, and this will begin as a pilot project in Bangalore.
The NGOs will form the task force in consultation with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Education Ministry, Department of Women and Child Development and the Child Welfare Committee. Children will also be part of it.
Some concerns
Nagasimha G. Rao of the Child Rights Trust (CRT), one of the NGOs that is part of the task force, said if there is continued discrimination, children who survive up to Class 8 under RTE will be severely affected. “Instead of empowering them, education will weaken them. Children admitted under RTE Act are anyway suffering from inferiority complex because of their background,” he said.
The task force will also advocate forming School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs), which now function only in village schools.
It may be mentioned here that the SDMCs have to ensure effective functioning and monitoring of the institution by taking on board parents too.
Panels’ role
The SDMCs have the important function of “bringing to the notice of the local authority any deviation from the rights of the child, in particular mental and physical harassment of children, denial of admission and timely provision of free entitlements.”
“Parents of children admitted under RTE quota complain they are spoken to in English by school authorities, knowing fully well that they are not fluent in the language. These sorts of problems should be taken care of,” said Mr. Rao.
Those who wish to know more about the task force can contact Mr. Rao on 9880477198.
