MONTO KIDS Foundation

FELTC - Free English Language Teaching Centre, a non-profit organization, provides free education up to 14 years of age.The organisation provides socially-conscious students and young professionals a platform to serve society and to bridge the gap between the learned and the unlearned through education.

Our volunteers educate and mentor children from orphanages, slum and village community centres in Bihar to give them a better future, which will benefit them as well as our country. The learning experience is mutual – our volunteers gain perspective and the experience to mould themselves into tomorrow’s leaders. At FELTC India, we believe that our children and volunteers are the latent potential that India needs for a bright and prosperous future.

FELTC in Schools: Joining hands with government to move from the Right to Education, to the “Right to Learn”

India now has a variety of policies and schemes to lay the pathto quality education. A noteworthylandmark in this journey is the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education(RTE) Act enacted by the Government of India in 2010.

The legislation entitles all childrenaged between six and 14 years to a quality education, based on principles of equity and non-discrimination. Passing the RTE Act marked a historic moment for the children ofIndia and serves as a building block to ensure that every child has his or her right to qualityelementary education guaranteed.

One of the principles underpinning the RTE Act is that education has to be child-centric and child-friendly. Over the years, FELTC has become increasingly aware of the need to investin quality and child-friendly education that is sensitive to the needs of children in diversecultures and locations. That child-friendly education methods and facilities are critical to the successful implementation of the RTE Actcannot be overstated.

Since the RTE Act was enacted in 2010, some important timelines have been given, including Teacher Education, which has an annualdeadline in March. For the 2015 deadline, FELTC is supporting the Indian government through.

Big Picture

What is the RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT?

Enacted on 1 April 2010, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) 2009 serves as a building block to ensure that every child from six to 14 years has his or her right to get a quality elementary education, and that the state, with the help of families and communities, fulfills this obligation.The act has been described as model for countries in the region and beyond, seeking not only access to schools, but also quality education within them.

By March 31, 2013 – the first deadline for implementation of the RTE – there had been significant resource allocations to the education sector and substantial structural reform, along with countless stories of hope from the field. Nonetheless, there remains much to be done in order to achieve quality education with equity for every girl and boy across India.

Important facets of quality education in the context of RTE :
Schools as inclusive spaces: A key RTE mandate is for schools to become child friendly, inclusive spaces where all children from diverse backgrounds are welcomed, treated kindly, and encouraged to actively participate in learning through child-centred activities.
Teachers as key change agents:Another important RTE goal is to empower teachers as key change agents in schools, ensuring their competence as professionals able to reflect on and improve their own practice. Beyond ensuring an acceptable Pupil-Teacher Ratio, RTE mandates that all teachers are professionally trained and supported to continuously assess and improve children’s learning.
Role of the community:Another key mandate of RTE is empowering communities to take ownership in the effective running of schools through School Management Committees.
Strengthened institutions and governance:While there are one-time investments that will make a significant difference in achieving targets in such areas as ensuring a library or a functional toilet in every school, much of the pedagogic transformation mandated by the RTE will necessitate substantial structural reform.

A shift from Right to Education to Right to Learn is required
While the enactment of the RTE has built on great strides in achieving access to education over the past decade, the focus of education in the country now needs to shift towards the “Right to Learn” to really address the core problems of schooling. School completion rates and learning outcomes must be improved by reducing gender and other social disparities, and improving the quality and coverage of pre-schoolprogrammes.

Fewer than half – an estimated 47 per cent – of Class 5 students are able to read a Class 2 text. The National Achievement Surveys show that the overall national average score for learning levels in language is 257 (on a scale of 0 to 500) and 252for mathematics. This means that many children in school are not learning the basics of literacy and numeracy or acquiring any additional knowledge and skills necessary for their all-round development as specified under the RTE Act.

There are close to 7.72 million teachers in elementary schools in India, out of which nearly 60 per cent, or 4.6 million, are in government schools . However, about 20 per cent of government teachers lack adequate professional qualifications, and many more lack the required skills, knowledge and attitudes to ensure effective learning. In order for the pupil-teacher ratios proscribed in the RTE Act to be met, more than 1 million trained teachers need yet to be appointed.

While the RTE Act makes child-friendly centred, quality education the fundamental right of every child andnational guiding principles for the Child Friendly Schools and Systems (CFSS) programmehave been developed, they must now be rolled out in states.
Our mission is to Change Today … Change Tomorrow