Failure to implement RTE due to conflicts: Sumati
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, July 24 2013: The benefits of Right to Education has not been fully utilized in Manipur because of the conflict between the Engineering wing of Directorate of Education (s) and the School Management and Development Committee(s), Secretary of All Manipur Students Guardians' Organization (AMSGO) S.Sumati has observed.

In a statement, Sumati observed that Right to Education Act (RTE) was passed by the Parliament in 2009 with the purpose of ensuring free and compulsory education to all children under the age of 14 years in the country.

In Manipur too, the act was enacted in 2010.To fulfill the objective of 'Education for all, development for all', Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) State Mission Authority was set up under the chairmanship of Chief Minister O.Ibobi.

However, because of conflicts between the Engineering Wing of the Directorate of Education (S) and the School Management and Development Committee (s), the benefits of the Act has not been utilized properly in Manipur.

She recalled that for the year 2012-13, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt.of India had sanctioned around 280 crores of Rupees through SSA.

The Engineering Wing of Education (S) ordered that the fund should be deposited in its bank account.

But according to the norms of RTE, the funds should be sanctioned directly through the SMDCs and the Wing cannot intervene.

The SMDCs have already filed a case in the Manipur High court in this regard and because of this, the Ministry has halted sanctioning of funds for 2013-14, Sumati said, and appealed to the Education Minister to look into the matter.

Sumati further observed that many qualified teachers have been recruited under SSA.

But some of them do not have been given postings and are being ustilised at the Directorate of Education (S) and ZEO offices.

The teachers should be given proper schools so that they can discharge their duties well.

She demanded the concerned authorities to solve this problem.

In order to make the parents to be well aware of RTE Act, the organization will start organizing awareness campaigns from the first week of August, she informed.

Comment