LEGAL AID AND AWARENESS COMMITTEE NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Phone: +91 98706 21491 / +91 86606 10971

Empirical Inquiry by Law Colleges on Implementation of the RTE Act,

2009
(For 2nd edition of NLUJ Right to Education Paper Presentation and Discussion Series)

THEME: PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

• The participants need to conduct the survey in minimum 5 Government Schools.

• The participants need to fill the survey form separately for each school surveyed.
• The survey shall be conducted on the “Empirical Inquiry Format on RTE school
facilities” provided by the organising Committee.
• The Inquiry Formats of each school shall be sent to the organising committee through
a Google Drive folder, with folder named as the “Team Code __”.

Note: This program is targeted only towards government / local body schools up to class
8- the limit to which the Right to Education Act, 2009 is applicable.

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This Note is intended to guide you in filling up this Performa. It attempts to provide tips as well
as background information regarding the ‘legal right’ being investigated through the concerned
item in the questionnaire.

Note to Fill the “BASIC INFORMATION”

2
How to find the 11-digit U-DISE code of the school?

Go to https://udiseplus.gov.in/#/home and click on “Know your school.” You can locate the
school by name or by pin code, and then get its U-DISE school code. https://src.udiseplus.gov.in/
also does the same. It may be easiest to search by pin code.

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In any case, the school also displays it on its board. Each of the approx. 1.5 million schools in
India has a unique ID code given to them in the first year of coverage under U‐DISE and used
every year to ensure compatibility and comparison across years. The 11-digit code comprises its
geographical location (first four digits representing the district, 2 digits for block, 3 digits for Village
and last 2 digits for school)

3
The village/town/municipal corporation and ward information is available in the school report
card of the school usually found as item numbers X, Y and Z

4
Lowest class in the school (not counting the Anganwadi or kindergarten):in the DISE school
report card, this information is given as item number X

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5
Highest Class in the DISE school report card, this information is given as item number X

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The present inquiry is limited to Government ‘Primary’ and ‘Primary with Upper Primary
Schools’ only, since the fundamental right to education is also only from the age of 6 to the age
of 14 years which corresponds to elementary education stage (i.e grades 1- 8, which includes
primary stage (1-5) and upper primary stage (6-8). For information and cross checking, it is good
to know the categorization scheme of school according to levels of education imparted by the
school. This could be one or a combination of all the levels – Primary, Upper Primary,

Secondary and Higher Secondary. These levels are different for each of the states and needs to be
determined as per the state practice. The lowest and highest class in the school determines school
category as below.

1. Primary only: A school with only primary classes (I‐IV/V as the case may be) in the
same premises and management. A school having classes more than V should not be
shown as primary school.

2. Primary with upper primary school: A school having classes from I to VII/VIII in
the same premises and under the same management. Schools with highest classes beyond
VII/VIII should not be classified here.

3. Primary with upper primary, secondary and higher secondary school: A school
having classes from I to XII. The lowest and highest classes in such schools would be I
and XII respectively.

4. Upper primary school: Schools starting from classes V/VI and teaching up to classes
VII/VIII. No other school would fall under this category.

5. Upper primary, secondary and higher secondary: Schools having class V/VI as the
lowest class and class XII as the highest class.

6. Primary with Upper Primary and Secondary: Schools having classes from I to X.
School with classes XI and XII should not be included in this category.

7. Upper Primary with Secondary: Schools starting classes from V/VI and teaching up
to class X.

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Basic information may aso be filled by questioning, observation and even by checking the
distance using Google Maps. According to RTE 2009, Section 3, the child has a right to a
neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education. Section 38 (2) b of the RTE
Act, allows for the appropriate government to prescribe the area or limits defined as
‘neighbourhood’. Usually, it is prescribed as 1 km for primary schools, and 3 km for Upper Primary
schools. However, these norms may vary in the case of hilly, sparsely populated regions. A Focus
Group Discussion is recommended to supplement this information in order to better understand
the catchment area of the school and the reason for the same.

Note to Fill the “PUPILS AND TEACHERS”

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Please provide only the total enrolment of the school. The DISE school report card of the school
provides both total enrolment and enrolment for each grade of the school. (Please provide
reference year when quoting the report card). This inquiry is interested only in the total enrolment
in the case of grades 1-5, because the same is linked to the number of teachers to be provided to
that school. (Schedule to the RTE Act; serial No 1)

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In no case, can a school rightfully have less than two teachers. For small schools, multi grade
teaching at the primary stage is permitted by law. If the enrolment is between 0-60 children, a
minimum of two teachers needs to be provided to the school. For enrolment between 61-90, there
must be 3 teachers in the school. For enrolment between 91-120 there must be 4 teachers in the
school. For enrolment between 121-200, there must be 5 teachers in the school. (Maximum pupil
/ teacher ratio at primary being 40 children per teacher).

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If a school has more than 150 children enrolled, then a Head Teacher also needs to be provided
in addition to five teachers)

14
The child has a fundamental right to education from the age of 6 to the age of 14. Yet a number
a primary schools end at grade 4 or 5, and the children are given a Transfer Certificate / School
leaving Certificate at this stage and age when they are only 10 or 11 years of age – as if it were not
the responsibility of the ‘State’ (as in Article 12 of the Constitution) to adjust and coordinate its
delivery mechanisms for seamless delivery (compulsory) of education between the ages of 6 to 14.
A complicating factor in many states is that after grade 5/6/7 in local body schools, further
education is provided by state governments/private management in ‘aided schools’. Yet, it is the
government which pays for this education, and it may be argued that the government has a duty
to ensure that once the child is its system, the continuity of education is the onus of the state

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government, and a fundamental right of the child. On the basis of a HC order, the Govt of the
NCT of Delhi modified its transition system to ensure 100% transition of children from municipal
primary schools to state government secondary schools. FGDs with children in upper primary
schools may testify to the struggle that the child has to make to get admission to a stage which is
required to be compulsory.

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At the Upper primary stage, i.e., grades 6, 7, and 8, the number of teachers to be provided to a
school is no longer dependent on the total enrolment. According to the Schedule to the RTE Act,
(Serial No. 1 b) no matter what the enrolment in a class in grades 6, 7, or 8(up to a maximum of
35 pupils); there must be at least one teacher per class (no more multi-grade teaching).
Furthermore, these three teachers must be for the three different subjects - science and maths;
social studies, and languages. Therefore, this question asks for the names of the subject teachers.

16
Where the total enrolment is above 100, the upper primary school becomes entitled to a full time
Head Teacher. Therefore, this question asks for the names of the head teacher in case of
enrolment above 100. An attempt may be made to verify the same from the teacher register. For
the sake of simplicity at this stage, this inquiry is not probing into the availability of part time
instructors for Art education, Health and physical education, and Work education, although they
should rightfully be provided to an upper primary school having enrolment above 100

Note to Fill the “INFRASTRUCTURE”

17
According to the Schedule to the RTE Act, every school is required to have ‘an all-weather
building’.

18
According to the Schedule to the RTE Act, every school is required to have ‘At least one
classroom for every teacher and an office cum storeroom cum Head teacher Room’. Thus, a
primary school having for example 70 pupils, would be entitled to three teachers (but no head
teacher), and therefore should have three classrooms (one for each teacher plus an office cum
store room even though they are not entitled to have a Head Teacher posted to the school.
However, an upper primary school, even with low enrolment is entitled to three teachers one for
each of the three upper primary grades 6, 7 and 8. Here too, they should have three classrooms -
one for each teacher - plus an office cum store room (even though having low enrolment below
100, they would not be entitled to have a Head Teacher posted to the school.

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Although a classroom in good condition is not specifically stated as a right in the RTE Act,
However, it is only logical to expect that classrooms would be maintained in good, safe and usable

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condition. The researchers are requested to refer to the latest school report card (and give reference
year) to check if the need for repairs is shown therein. The researchers’ observation on the
condition seen by them (despite the time lag) is expected to indicate the responsiveness of the
authorities to the physical infrastructure of the schools.

20
According to the Schedule of the RTE Act, “There shall be a library in each school providing
newspapers, magazines, and books on all subjects, including story books”.

21
According to the Schedule of the RTE Act, Item No 2 (vi) mentions ‘playground’ as one of the
essential infrastructural facilities in a school. Item No 7 states that ‘play material, games and sports
equipment shall be provided to each class as required.

22
The Schedule of the RTE Act Item No 7 states that ‘play material, games and sports equipment
shall be provided to each class as required.

23
The Schedule of the RTE Act Item 2 (iii) mandates ‘separate toilets for boys and girls’. However,
the guidelines for filling out the DISE report of the school have defined ‘Functional Toilet as the
one with minimal odour, unbroken seat, regularly cleaned and dry, working drainage system,
accessible to users, closable door. It is these items that have been employed in this table as points
to be observed towards deciding whether or not the toilet is indeed functional. However, it would
also be interesting to see what has been stated in the latest DISE report card of the school.
Therefore, in the line c (shaded) of the stem question related to whether the toilet is functional,
the information reported in the latest DISE report (quote year) should be looked up and entered
for the sake of comparison with the reality as observed in the school.

24
Water availability for purposes other than drinking has not specifically been mentioned in the
list of mandatory infrastructure of a school. However, the same may be assumed as ‘understood’
as essential to the school.

25
The Schedule of the RTE Act Item 2 (iv) mandates ‘safe and adequate drinking water facility to
all children’. Therefore, this item is covered by two questions (cross checked by Focus Group
Discussions). The first question is regarding the source of the drinking water, and the second
regarding whether it is perceived as ‘safe’ and ‘adequate’.

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The U DISE report card of the school reports as ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, on whether the drinking water
source is ‘functional’. According to their guidelines for filling of their data capture format “The
functionality of the drinking water can be derived if the source is accessible to the school and also

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provision has been made to bring and store water in the school without involving the children”.
This question is intended as empirical verification of these aspects and more.

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The Schedule of the RTE Act Item 2 (vii) requires “arrangements for securing the school
building by boundary wall or fencing”.