New Delhi, July 31:The salient features of the Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education Bill are –
– Free and compulsory education to all children of India in the six to 14 age group;
– No child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education;
– A child who completes elementary education (upto class 8) shall be awarded a certificate;
– Calls for a fixed student-teacher ratio;
– Will apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir;
– Provides for 25 percent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission to Class One in all private schools;
– Mandates improvement in quality of education;
– School teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose job;
— School infrastructure (where there is problem) to be improved in three years, else recognition cancelled;
— Financial burden will be shared between state and central government
–IANS–