In its recent judgement the Apex Court held that the rights of minorities to establish and administer minority institutions under Articles 29 (1) and 30 (1) of the Constitution are not subject to restrictions(S. H. Kapadia, CJI, at paragraphs 14 to 19). The judgement goes further to state that the protection which is afforded under these provisions is a ‘real right’ and is distinguished from the guarantee under Article 19 (1) (g) which is subject to certain restrictions [Article 19 (6) of the Constitution]; thereby implying that Articles 29 and 30 take precendence over Article 19 (1) (g). Breathing life into Article 15 (5) of the Constitution, the Court held that only reasonable regulations which make a minority educational institution “an effective vehicle of education for the minority community” may be imposed by the Executive or the Legislature. Therefore, minority unaided institutions have been exempted from the provisions of the RTE Act. However, the judgement does not clarify whether unaided minority institutions are exempt only from the 25% reservation or the entire act.

In this context, the Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association (KUSMA) has filed a review petition before the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent judgement on the RTE Act [The Hindu]. The premise of the review petition is that the judgement adversely affects the existence of unaided non-minority schools. The Association has also written to the Chief Secretary seeking clarifications on various issues. The Association has alluded to the fact that in Karnataka the definition of ‘minority‘ is ambiguous. Since the word minority encompasses both linguistic and religious minorities, the letter states that around 50 percent of schools in Karnataka can claim to be minority institutions [Bangalore Mirror]. This would pose a serious threat to RTE implementation in the state as many unaided non-minority institutions would use the garb of a minority institution to deviate from the clutches of the law. One possible way of curbing such misconduct is by issuing guidelines stating that information regarding the establishment of a minority educational institution must be mentioned in the establishing document (eg: Deed of Trust or Memorandum of Association) of the entity.

On March 5th, 2012, a few non governmental organisations met state authorities such as the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and State Institute for Education Management and Training (SIEMAT) to conduct a RTE stocktaking process in Uttarakhand. The stocktaking was primarily aimed at  measuring the progress of RTE implementation in the state, and for creating a common platform for local organisations who work in the field of education. The stocktaking was conducted in a region-wise fashion, wherein the problems of each region have been highlighted.

A summary of the proceedings tells us that while some aspects of the RTE such as School Management Committees (SMC) have been constituted all over the state; other essential infrastructural issues such as teachers and toilets for girls in certain areas are yet to be worked on. Multi-grade and multi-level teaching are still highly prevalent due to a dearth of teachers in the state. Participants expressed the need to ensure at least one teacher per class. Many alluded to the lack of trained teachers and also a lack of teacher training in the State. Dr DK Sheel, Additional Director of the SCERT emphasised that capacity building for teachers will prove to be insufficient unless there is an attitudinal change in teachers.

Also, many of those who were present pointed out the serious lack in quality education across the state. The SCERT is yet to release the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) framework as mandated by the RTE; two meetings have been conducted on this front. Further, the concept of age-appropriate admission as prescribed under the RTE was questioned on the grounds that it is not practical for a child to learn what is taught over five years of schooling within a three to six month window (bridge course).

Another contentious issue was the 25% enrollment of children belonging to socially and economically weaker sections in all schools. The Additional Director, SCERT stated that such enrollment would result in the development of complexes in the minds of children and the only way to avoid this risk is by ensuring that the inclusion happens from Class I.

Although the stocktaking reports are positive on the formation of SMCs in schools, the large-scale politicization of the SMCs and undemocratic methods of SMC formation in some areas is a worrying factor. It was stated that only 10% of SMC meetings have happened. SMCs are pivotal for community engagement on education under the RTE. The provision for SMCs is to ensure that parents, local authorities and school authorities take ownership for the progress of schools. SMCs are entrusted with imperative functions such as monitoring the functioning of the school, formulation of school development plans, implementation of these plans and monitoring the utilisation of grants. It would be worthy to note that research reveals ensuring adequate community participation has a positive impact on the students’ learning achievements.  

The meeting concluded with the members sharing a draft Charter on education. The Charter emphasizes on four areas- 25% enrolment in neighbourhood schools, rigorous teacher training, strengthening of SMCs through capacity building and allocation of finances. It was also proposed that the members of the a RTE forum would meet the new government and also strive for formalization of the Uttarakhand RTE forum.