Govt conducts school mapping to check availability as per RTE

Updated on: Monday, January 24, 2011

The Maharashtra government is tracking down the locations of all schools across the state to gather the availability data, in a bid to implement the Right to Education Act that makes it mandatory for states to have a school within a kilometre from the child's house.
"We are tracking schools with Geographic Information System to check availability across the state, as per the RTE," Minister of State for School Education Fauzia Khan told PTI.

The RTE Act passed by the Centre last year says that a primary school should be available within one kilometre area of the child's residence, a higher primary school within three kms and a secondary school in five-kilometre area.

The government is keen to gather the information since there are many remote places in the state which are not easily connected with schools and the children face trouble in walking down large distances, Khan said.

"With the mapping, the government would have exact data on school availability and the requirement in particular areas," Khan said.

The project is expected to collect the data till end of February so that the department would accordingly give approvals to new schools from coming academic year, the minister said.

Govt conducts school mapping to check availability as per RTE

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