Three months after Act,RTE rulebook here

“The draft rules are now out in the public domain,” said an Education department official. “We are inviting suggestions on the rules.”

After the RTE Act came into effect,the DoE had to grapple with many questions. While the RTE Act outlined many issues like special training,unrecognised schools and dropouts,the department had no answers.

The draft rules now talk about these issues. Part II of the rulebook has a section on special training for out-of-school children. “School management committees or local authorities shall identify children requiring special training and organise such training.”

It also discusses ways in which the training can be imparted. “The child,upon induction into the age-appropriate class after special training,shall continue to receive special attention from the teachers to enable him/her to successfully integrate with the rest of the class academically and emotionally.”

Mapping has to be undertaken to identify children,including those with special needs,to bring them into the fold of mainstream education. Admitting children from the financially weaker section has also been dealt with carefully.

“Now that the draft rules are here,it will be easier to implement the Act,” said the Education department official.