RTE Portal to provide open plantform for stakeholders launched

RTE Portal to provide open plantform for stakeholders launched

Centre for Civil Society and Central Square Foundation in partnership with FICCI, launched an RTE portal to provide a free and open platform for stakeholders to interact, discuss, create, share experiences and dispel myths regarding the historic ‘Right to Education Act’.

Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Senior Director, FICCI gave the welcome address and said she believed the RTE Portal was a big step forward towards increasing transparency.

Parth J Shah, President of Centre for Civil Society set the tone of the event, introducing the portal to the media and the participants. He discussed the inspiration behind the creation of the portal and took the audience through its key features. The launch was followed by a panel discussion titled ‘RightToEducation.in: Inform, Engage, Reform’.

The panel comprised Yamini Aiyar, Director, Accountability Initiaitve; Annie Koshi, Principal, St Mary’s School, Delhi and Dr Parth J Shah, President, Center for Civil Society. The panel was moderated by Mr Ashish Dhawan, CEO of the Central Square Foundation and Chairman FICCI School Education Committee.

Ashish reiterated the importance of the portal in disseminating information and increasing engagement, especially with regards to provisions around 25% and SMCs made by the RTE.

Panelist Yamini Aiyar talked about the importance of SMCs and how they were the key to addressing governance failures of elementary school education in India. She said, “This portal is a fantastic effort and is a huge resource for all those who are constantly looking for data.” She also mentioned that the portal was an important tool for documenting experiences, cases and best practices in the creation of SMCs and mobilisation of parents.

Taking on the issue of 25% reservations and inclusive education, panelist Annie Koshi said, “The biggest challenge with the RTE is the homogenisation of infrastructure, curriculum and evaluation.” She said the portal would be a good way to highlight practices for inclusion that are being practised in different states, but said there was a need for an on-ground agency in order to make a difference.

The RTE Portal aims to Inform, Engage and Reform. It will act as an all-inclusive port of call on RTE-related information and updates from across the country, allow people to seek redressal of grievances related to the Act and draw on case studies from RTE related interventions across the country, to encourage the sharing of best practices related to on-ground implementation of the Act.

The launch of this portal is an important step towards increasing citizen participation in education governance, and making government processes, decision-making and policy implementation more transparent and accountable which will move us closer to the goal of providing quality education of choice to the children of India.

Read the story in All Voices.