Visakhapatnam: Private coaching centres thrive despite Right To Education (RTE) Act
Visakhapatnam: “Private tuition is one of the ills afflicting Indian education, which needs to be addressed.” This declaration in Section 28 of the Right To Education (RTE) Act prohibits private tuition by teachers to ensure that they do not use their position for commercial gain or to harass children and parents.
The RTE Act came into force in 2009, but there is lethargy in implementation of its provisions.
Besides, a study by the National Sample Survey Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation reveals that private coaching centres are thriving in the state. “Without the involvement of teachers, how can such coaching centres mushroom? The Act prohibits not only teachers of government scho-ols, but private ones too as they come under the ambit of RTE. Officials may deny it, but in reality, many teachers are engaged in private coa-ching,” said RTE forum state convener Narava Prakasa Rao, expressing concern over the tuition mania in the state.
According to the survey, among every 1,000 students, 135 male and 71 female students in primary schools and 137 male and 128 female students in upper primary classes are attending coaching classes across the state.
It also found that around 7.1 crore students across the country took private tuition, which is about one in every four students. In a couple of states, more than three out of every four students, or over 75 per cent, opted for tuition.
Mr Rao also pointed out that district-level redressal committees should have been formed in all districts where such complaints could be dealt with, but the School Education department in the state had failed to do this.
The main lacunae in the RTE Act is that while it prohibits private coaching, it does not mention what disciplinary action needed to be taken against the errant teachers, he added.
Vizag district education officer M.V. Krishna Reddy said, “I have not received any complaint against teachers taking up private tuition. It is also not feasible from our end to track their activities beyond school hours.”
