The effectiveness of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in unrecognised schools of Delhi, India

Abstract

In 2009, the Government of India introduced a new Education Act known as the “Right to Education” (RTE). The Act was brought out with all good intentions that would focus on the provision of education to 6 –14 years of age. Focused heavily, on input based indicators the Act intended to improve learning outcomes of children enrolled in private and public schools. The RTE act is being imposed stringently on several low-cost private schools across Delhi, and they have been, threatened with closure in the case of non-compliance to the RTE indicators. This thesis investigates the possible consequences of the Act. The current research using mixed methods attempts to understand the relationship between the various RTE input indicators and the academic outcomes of the children enrolled in the threatened private schools of Delhi. The study used two sets of instruments to measure the learning outcomes of students. First, a test for subject-specific competence was measured through a bespoke exam, known as the ‘diagnostic test’. Second, general intelligence was, measured through Raven’s standard progressive matrices test to control for innate ability. The background of children was also gathered using a questionnaire. Information on school RTE indicators were collected through a school questionnaire. Teacher data related to the RTE were gathered through a semi-structured teacher questionnaire. An in-depth interview was carried out to collect qualitative data and gained narrative accounts from school head teachers and principals to understand more deeply how the RTE indicators were impacting on student outcomes and low-cost private schools in Delhi. These data were analysed using linear regression models, to investigate the impact of the RTE on schools and student outcomes. The study revealed that most RTE infrastructure indicators were not statistically significant regarding student outcomes. Only, two factors were positively significant first, the provision of mid-day meals and second the presence of a library. Teacher qualifications have a positive influence on student outcomes, however other factors mentioned in the RTE including job status of the teacher, the salary range or parent-teacher association meetings, were found not to influence test scores. Finally, regarding the core indicators of the RTE, only two factors affected academic outcomes positively and were found to be significant. First, practising inclusivity and second, allowing ‘hands-on-learning’ for students. Schools that charged a fee on a higher spectrum, as compared to those which charged fees on a lower range, were found to affect student outcomes negatively, at a significant level. Other RTE academic and institutional indicators seemed to have negative or no impact on student learning outcomes, however, they were not significant. ii A major policy implication of this research is to provide feedback to the Government of IndiaA major policy implication of this research is to provide feedback to the Government of India on the gaps that currently exist in the RTE act, that affect student’s learning in low-cost private schools, threatened with closure notices. The study is unique as it gathered data from officially threatened schools, from the districts of New Delhi, that weakly comply with the RTE. The research provides insights generated from data and in-depth discussions with school owners on schooling inputs likely to affect student learning outcomes, teaching and the operation of low-cost private schools to inform future discussions around the RTE.