One year after the Right to Education (RTE) Act came into effect, only 10 States have notified the rules till now, according to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry.

These are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

According to the one-year report card of RTE, released here by the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, 16 other States, including Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, have prepared the draft rules but are yet to notify them.

Civil society groups in the field of education, such as the RTE Forum, however, expressed dismay at the progress of the RTE Act and blamed lack of political will and coordination among States and the Centre, coupled with the issues like shortage of schools and teachers, as the reasons for poor implementation.

“It is a shame that one year after the enforcement of the (RTE) Act, we are yet to get off the ground on key provisions. The dream of universal education remains a distant reality,” Mr Ambarish Rai, spokesperson for the forum, said at a meet on Wednesday.

While the Centre and States are yet to reach a consensus on funding, activists say the availability of teachers is what holds the key to the Act's success in the long run. There is still a massive shortfall of about 14 lakh teachers, they say.

But, according to the HRD Ministry report, compared with the 5.08 additional teachers to be provided within three years, 4.55 lakh have already been appointed. Of the 3.10 lakh part-time instructors for art education, physical education and work education to be provided within three years, 1.13 lakh were in place till April 1, 2011.

However, only 2.74 classrooms have been provided till now against 14.25 lakh planned within three years.

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