Has India’s Right to Education Act made elementary education more equitable?
India’s Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009) mandates free and compulsory education of all 6-14 year-old children. Under Section 12(1)(c) of the act, private unaided schools must provide 25% reservation for children from disadvantaged (economically and socially weak) groups. Supporting the Tamil Nadu government, Athena is triangulating information from multiple sources to synthesize insights from 8 focus districts. It focuses on challenges, bottlenecks, current coverage, and efficacy. It is also:
- Developing a performance rubric for the implementation system considering the rules and structures issued at the state level for the implementation of Section 12(1)(c).
- Deep diving into the capture of ground level limitations and hurdles of the implementation by collecting and analyzing “hard data”.
- Capturing the perception and behaviour of multiple stakeholders, especially parents and educators. An extensive round of primary surveys across multiple districts in Tamil Nadu will help obtain this critical data.