The Parliament has passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (amendment) Bill 2012 yesterday providing differently abled children in the age group of 6-14 the right of admission to any school. So far, so good.

But what is the track record of the RTE Act itself? Though the Act for Free and Compulsory Education was passed years back, it has not been implemented in most of the states. More than 1/3 of the population are still illiterate. Nobody can argue that the literacy has not increased after Independence, but is it sufficient for a country which has got freedom from the British more than 60 years back. The fact is that not that importance has been given to the free education in the country.

There should be strong pressure upon the central and state government to ensure the implementation of the Act and the present amendment.