No extension in RTE deadline: HRD minister

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju Tuesday said there will be no extension in Right to Education Act deadlines, leaving the decision of action against non-complying schools on state governments.

Talking to reporters after a meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the minister said it was the general consensus in CABE that the deadline should not be extended.

“Though some states demanded extending the RTE deadline, as of now, there is a consensus in CABE that the deadline for RTE should not be extended,” the minister said.

CABE is the highest advisory body on education.

The deadline for implementation of RTE Act was March 31, 2013. However, a lot of states are lagging behind with schools lacking infrastructure, qualified teachers and other things.

Raju said the responsibility of taking action against schools for non-compliance of RTE Act was with the state governments. He, however, assured that non-complying schools will not be shut overnight.

“It is in the hands of state government to take action. There will be a process to it, there will be an inspection, then the schools will be sent notice, they can explain why they are not complying with the norms,” Raju said.

He, however, added that action should be taken against schools which are in bad shape, or fail to follow the guidelines even after warnings.

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