Six years after the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, India continues to top the global list of countries with the highest number of out-of-school children. While the government was optimistic about attaining a 100% literacy rate for children under the RTE Act by 2015, only 10% of schools are covered under the act after six years, with 6 million out-of-school children.

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With dropout rates as high as 41%, the situation remains grim. The education sector is still awaiting its 6% share of the GDP, as recommended by the first education commission.

In the stock-taking meeting of the RTE Act held in the capital, concerns were raised about the human resource development (HRD) ministry's idea of rolling back the no-detention policy in schools and running government schools on a public-private partnership basis.

Inaugurating the meeting, vice-president Hamid Ansari raised concerns over India's poor global ranking. The Global Monitoring Report 2012 has ranked India as low as 102nd out of the 120 countries on the Education for All (EFA) Development Index, which is based on progress in universal primary education, adult literacy, gender parity and quality of education.

"Some surveys have revealed that while enrollment in elementary education in our country has increased, there has been a decline in the education outcomes, with abilities in reading, writing and other comprehensive skills deteriorating among children between the ages of six and 14," said Ansari.

The report released also suggests that there has been a gradual decline in the budget for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, mass closure of government schools and the entry of private players as partners in the government sector.

While there has been a 25% increase in private schools, the rate of increase of government schools has remained at 2%.