RTE law not in sync with reality: Goa Congress MP

The UPA government's flagship right to education (RTE) policy is flawed and does not take into account ground realities in the states, a Congress MP from Goa said Monday.

"The extension of school hours amounts to harassing students and parents. The policy does not take ground reality into consideration in various states," said South Goa Lok Sabha MP Francisco Sardinha.

Sardinha, who is also chairman of the Lok Sabha Estimates Committee, said the state government should write to the union human resource development ministry asking it to cut back the half-hour increase in school timings.

"Just because there is a law it must not be followed. If there is something wrong, one should write to the central government saying so," said Sardinha.

Acting as per the provisions of the RTE law, the Goa government recently increased school teaching hours by half an hour, from five-and-half hours to six hours.