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You are here: Home Panorama RTE admissions: Wu disadvantaged s!Uden!S be able to cope?

RTE admissions: Will disadvantaged

students be able to cope?
Rohl! Dhankar,Aug 15, 2012,
Th& Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act. 2009 (RTE for 9flort) 1,
certainty a l111dmark development In lndla's atlempta to unlvensall elementary
eclucatfon. Howwar, th819 ls eome confusion In 119 pedagogical and cunleular "1slon,
whlc:h, If not clNnKI In tfm&, can mar 119 potential for ac:hlevlng Its obfectlYae.
Toe RTE in Section 4 stipulates that if a ctiild abOve the age of aix years iS either not admitted
to achOOI ot left school withOut completing etementmy education "he ot she Yl'ill be admitted to a
claas appropriate to hiS or her age." S14>pose a child of 10 years of age has never been admitted
to achOOI, Wldef' RTE, w,en ahe goea to achoo! rwm, ahe shall be admitted to cl88a 5. Since
she has never been to adlool before It would be lmposslble for her to cope "'1th the teaming
expectaUona 88 per the cumcuhm; one can herdly Imagine a chlld starting mathematics straight
at the level of multJpllcatlon of fra.cUonal numbers, ot languag& straight at reading short stortea
v.1thoiJ ever acq"llllJ proficiency In reading and wr!Ung.
Therefon,, the Act makes a provision that 'he or she shall, In Older to be at par with othefs have
a right to receive special training In sucti manner, and v.tthln such time-limits, as may be
prescribed." Such special trairing can be extended up to a maximum of 2 yeem (as per Bordia
committee an RTE) f.l'ld the ctildren admitted to an age app,opl'iate class in ttis manner f.ll'e
entitled to receive regular support even after the special trairing till they are Uty integrated into
the class. Admission to an age app,opl'iate class could be sought at any age between six and
14, and at any time dimng the academic yeer (Section 15).
Srudying with ctiildren of the aame age is positive and beneficial in terms of soclallsatlon,
social Interaction, motJvatlon, and leemlng speed 88 per development level. A 10-year-okl chlld Is
likely to feel embarrassed Y.4'len placed with sbc-year-okls to leam, f.l'ld ls llkely to be socialised
In to low confldence levels, v.111ch may cause her to lack 19qulslte levels of se!f-e.sseftlon In
social situations In her later life.
Ho!Never, the coocept of 'class' and the followirQ iclea of 'special training' are both problematic.
'Vllhile 'class' is a central concept in RTE pedagogy and ci.mculum, !tie practical implications of
implementing RTE stipUlations based on it can be notional and pretentious at best.

Special tnllnlng

U8ually speaking. a c1ass is a g of children leeming at a particular n-,g in cuntclfim organised as a leamlng
ladder. 11,e Idea of spec1a1 training' In OR!erto be at par with others comes In because one has formulated
cumciium as a leemlng ladder and not aa a leemlng contlnu1m, and each rmg of the ladcil'lr has to be completed In
a given tlrn&.
There Is no reliable data available on how long an effective so-called special training should be for different ages
and how certain v.ie can be of children's leamlng through sudl training. TralnlllJ Is actually a flt descrfpUon for most
(not al bridge courses and special learning camps. BIA the question is, can it slCStitiJe for the missed opport1.11ity
of education and bring the ctildren at par with those who have had an opportwiity of good education over the years?
IJIJhel'I a child. for instance, enteffl the sctioot system at class 5. with no prior formal e<klcation, under special
training. her ciinculum iS different, she does not ait in the same class aa c1aas 5 children, and uaea different teaming
material. In

Trleolour burnt,

(i)

Yttlat sense then Is this child admitted to class 5? She derives none of the benefits of learning in the same
age group as stated above.
\11,tiat happens then to the notion of class? If one says that a class need not have all children learning the
same curricular content, then why specify curriculum in a graded ladder fashion? wtry organise the school in
a classtructure? If you do 81-NBy with both, how does one comply with stipulations of completion of
elementary education, completion of curriculum in stipulated time, and school nonns about infrastructure and
teachers?
Clearty, compliance with RTE stipulations is possible only on the basis of very spacious interpretations of
class and completion, and will amount to compliance only to the letter of the Act, devoid of any spirit.
This conundrum arises because we organise our education system and schools according to the authoritarian
tradition of primary schools v.ihereas our pedagogical and curricular recommendations come from a tradition of
progressive education. One can hardly ride two horses galloping in opposite directions. I/Ve should either drop
all progressive pretensions and accept the implications of the authoritarian tradition or accept a more liberal
view of education and dismantle the authoritarian structure. If we do not have the courage to make that
choice, we will be parading at the same place without covering an inch of ground in the desired direction.
(The writer is a professor at Azim Premji University)

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