RTE Act May Be Extended Upto Class 12
The HRD Ministry is planning to consider a proposal to extend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 up to class 12. Currently, the act applies to children between the age of 6-14 years who are in classes 1-8.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 may soon be extended up to class 12th. The HRD Ministry is considering a proposal with effect to the same. As of now, this act is applicable for children between 6-14 years who are studying in Classes 1 to 8th. All private schools except minority institutes have to reserve 25 percent seats for underprivileged students. The RTE Act was introduced on April 1, 2010.
In 2012 a sub-committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) had suggested extending the RTE Act. The proposal regarding the extension of the RTE Act, 2009 is currently under the ministry’s consideration. Any decision taken in this regard will be communicated once it has been thoroughly examined, said a senior HRD Ministry official in a letter.
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The letter was in response to a query sent by the education activist Ashok Agarwal to the Ministry suggesting the extension of RTE to class 12th. HRD Minister for State Satya Pal Singh had informed the Parliament in March that there is no proposal to extend it from the nursery level to the secondary level.
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There is no such proposal to extend the RTE Act, 2009 at the moment but due to the announcement in the budget this year to treat education and schools holistically without segmenting from nursery to secondary, the education department has come up with an Integrated Scheme on School Education, Satya Pal Singh said.