Has India's Right to Education Act made elementary education more equitable?

India's Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009) mandates free and compulsory education of all 6-14 year-old children. Under Section 12(1)(c) of the act, private unaided schools must provide 25% reservation for children from disadvantaged (economically and socially weak) groups. Supporting the Tamil Nadu government, Athena is triangulating information from multiple sources to synthesize insights from eight focus districts. It focuses on challenges, bottlenecks, current coverage, and efficacy. It is also:

• Developing a performance rubric for the implementation system considering the rules and structures issued at the state level for the implementation of Section 12(1)(c).
• Deep diving into the capture of ground level limitations and hurdles of the implementation by collecting and analyzing "hard data."
• Capturing the perception and behavior of multiple stakeholders, especially parents and educators. An extensive round of primary surveys across multiple districts in Tamil Nadu will help obtain this critical data.