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Wuthering Heights

This refers to the well-analysed editorial on RTE by Arindam Chaudhuri, (TSI, April 25-May 2). After six decades of the commencement of Indian Constitution, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act has been passed. Now that India’s children between the age of 6-14 years have a right to receive education, one doubts whether it will remain on paper or become a reality. This act has certain noteworthy features that it offers a framework for ensuring quality education, for creating infrastructure, for making available a sufficient number of trained teachers and for extending government funding to private schools. The enforcement of the RTE law is an arduous task. Let us hope that the enactment of this law is a commendable step for the march of India to greater heights.

Dr SK Aggarwal
Amritsar For a Blissful Life
Your article, "A weapon of harassment" (TSI, April 19-25) by Uma Challa throws light on the law under IPC 498 A. It also showcases that how this law is being misused and innocent husbands are dragged into the net of harassment. Certainly, the persons deliberately misusing this law should be severely punished. But on the other side, there is the out and out truth that women are given brutal treatment by the men. In many cases, the women are treated as the weaker and helpless section and subsequently they are subject to physical and mental torture. So as to conjugal life, the spouses should understand each other because mutual co-operation is the only solution to the peace and happiness of marital life. Nirupama Ghibela
Balangir, Orissa A Huge Challenge

Arindam Chaudhuri in his editorial (TSI, April 25-May2) has aptly analysed the Right to Education Act and has raised a genuine point that whether this act is actionable in the current education infrastructure of India and without enough service providers to maintain a student to teacher ratio of 30:1. When 5.23 lakh teachers’ positions are lying vacant, how its objective can be achieved? One of the strongest criticisms of RTE Act, which requires state governments to set up neighbourhood schools in three years from April 1, is its blacking out of 170 million children at pre-primary and secondary school level. India has signed the UN Convention on Rights of the Child which defines a child up to 18 years. But the law is restrictive and says nothing on the education of one to 6 year category.

It would have been better for the government to have settled the financial issue involved in its implementation. Moreover, private schools are anxious against the 25 per cent quota norm, saying it infringes upon their right to self-govern. They are also concerned that the law bars them from screening children. In fact, the time has come for the government to consider both its pros and cons before implementing it. If the country has to progress then it has to make its generation strong. And this can be only achieved when all the children are well-educated.

Suman Kukal
Chandigarh