CABINET NOD TO TEACHERS’ QUALIFICATION

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to amend the RTE Act to make it mandatory for teachers to acquire minimum qualification. The amendment in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, will enable inservice untrained elementary teachers to complete their training which is imperative to maintain the standard of teaching quality. “The amendment will ensure that all teachers, in position as on March 31, 2015, acquire the minimum qualifications prescribed by the academic authority to extend the period for such training for four years up to 31st March, 2019,” an official statement said. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, came into effect in April, 2010. It envisages free and compulsory elementary education to every child in the age group of 6-14 years. The proviso to Section 23(2) of the Act specifies that all teachers at elementary level who, at the commencement of this Act, did not possess the minimum qualifications as laid down under the RTE Act, 2009, need to acquire these within a period of five years i.e. by March 31, 2015. —