New Delhi: On Friday i.e. on April 16, 2010, two Bills were introduced in Rajya Sabha to regulate the quality of teachers and amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act in to make it compulsory for mentally-disabled.
The first Bill will seek to elucidate the stand of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act, 1993, on qualification of school teachers in the teacher education system. The provisions of the NCTE (Amendment) Bill 2010, once passed, shall apply to institutions and their students and teachers.
Furthermore, it will apply to schools imparting pre-primary, primary, upper primary, secondary or senior secondary education and colleges providing senior secondary or intermediate education irrespective of the fact, by whatever, names they may be called.
The Bill states that in order to maintaining standards of education in schools, the council may, by regulation, determine the qualification of people for being recruited as teachers in any school or college, by whatever name called, established, run, aided or recognized by the central or state government or local or other authority.
In addition, according to the Bill it is also considered necessary to amend the Act to clarify that it applies to schools, school teachers, and the minimum qualifications for appointment of school teachers, so as to have uniform standards of teaching in schools in the country.
The second Bill, which is called the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2010, seeks to provide free and compulsory education to all students, including those who suffer from autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation etc.
