RTE bill - historic!

The union cabinet passed the Right to Education Bill and this sure is historic. I don't want to jinx it with premature celebration when the bill hasn't been introduced in the parliament yet but the thought of it getting passed there too is amazing. This is the kind of empowerment i wrote about in my earlier blog. This bill will mean that every kid in the age range between 6 and 14 is entitled for education and also the teacher vacancy will be lesser than 10%.

This will bring down the illiteracy rate, provide better opportunities, increase social awareness and welfare, and slowly bridge the gap between the poor and rich. One of the beneficial side effects of this will be better government at both the state and the center. A better educated society knows its rights, necessities and importance of a good government. This means politicians will have to serve and keep their promises, unlike now, else they will be voted out. People will not fall for the gimmicks such as religious agendas, of political parties

Although this will cost the government close to a 1000 crore pa it is important to make this investment as the ROI will be higher. Where the government shouldn't falter is in bringing this bill to effect. If the education provided remains noncompetitive, infrastructure bad and teachers poor then the bill will have no effect in making the changes we expect!