Goa RTE rule to have more control over private schools

Updated on: Monday, June 04, 2012

Goa Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Rules, 2012 make it mandatory for every private school, not controlled by the government, to declare within six months of the rules coming into force that the school is not run for profit to any individual or group of individuals or any other persons.

The schools will also have to declare that its infrastructure, including its playground, is used only for the purposes of education and skill development and that the school is open to inspection by any officer authorized by the government or the local authority. The schools will have to furnish any reports or information that may be required by the directorate of education from time to time.

At a meeting held on April 19, 2012, chief minister Manohar Parrikar had directed the rules to be circulated among stakeholders for their objections and suggestions. With the last date to send the comments exhausted on May 21 and with Goa running against time to notify them, the rules appear to be set to come into effect soon. Other than Karnataka, Goa is the only state, which is yet to notify state rules of the Union government's RTE Act, 2009.

Once the rules come into force, every private school will have to make the declaration to the deputy director of education concerned giving details of the school's compliance with norms and standards laid by the RTE Act.

The deputy director will conduct an on-site inspection of the school within three months and place the report in public domain.

Only then schools found to be complying with the required standards will be issued a certificate of recognition. Schools which do not conform to the norms and standards within three years of the Goa rules coming into force will be derecognized. And from the time the rules come into effect every private school will have to obtain such certificate of recognition before it begins functioning.

The Goa rules, to make the process of seeking admissions hassle-free in all schools, state that in the absence of all other documents, merely an affidavit by the parent or the guardian declaring the child's age will be considered sufficient age proof while admitting the child in a school.

Once the rules come into force, a child, who is not admitted in a school, can be enrolled in one up to six months after the academic year begins. These children will be first provided special training based on separate learning material drawn up by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) appropriate for the child's age and which will help the child come on par with the learning for a class suitable to his or her age.

The state will carry out a household survey and maintain a record of all children residing within its jurisdiction from their birth till they attain 14 years of age. The records will be updated annually.

"The local authority shall ensure that the names of all children enrolled in the schools within its jurisdiction are publicly displayed on the notice board of every school," the rules state.

The school management committee, consisting of parents and people from the local community, among other duties will also have to ensure that no teacher of the school is directly or indirectly engaged in private tuitions, consultancy or business and does not render services to any firm or company or any organization with or without remuneration.

Within a month of completing elementary education, the child will be issued a certificate of completion of primary education which also specifies the child's achievements in areas beyond studies, which may include dance, music, literature, sports etc.

Goa RTE rule to have more control over private schools

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