March 2013 deadline on right to education stays

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) No extension is likely for the March 2013 deadline to achieve the right to education (RTE) targets for now, Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju said Thursday.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) meeting here, Raju said extending the deadline was not a solution.

“Extending the deadline is not the solution. It will be a collective failure. Instead we should push harder for meeting the set deadline,” he said.

“There are certain problem with some states. It is the problem of legacy, but then these are the states where RTE is most needed,” Raju said.

“The deadline for RTE remains March 2013 for now,” he said.

Several states including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are lagging behind in meeting deadline for implementation of the RTE law, failing to achieve significant targets in fields like teacher student ratio, school infrastructure and teacher’s qualifications.

The deadline extension issue was raised by Bihar.

The CABE also gave an in-principal approval to start deliberations for including secondary education under the right to education.

IANS 2012-11-08 22:58:06