The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights ( NCPCR) has asked the education departments across the country to adopt a code of conduct to ensure transparency in admission to disadvantaged children under Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. The direction comes in the wake of plethora of complaints about denial of admission by the private schools. NCPCR Chairperson, Shanta Sinha said in a directive to the state governments that the admission process should be clearly specified in the brochure, school website and notice boards. Denial of admission under the EWS category can attract punitive action, including derecognition of the school. She said implementation of code of conduct by the schools will strengthen transparency and accountability in effective implementation of right to education Act. It will also help the governments get direct information and feedback from the people on the status of working of the RTE, she said. The Commission also wants the States to organise awareness programmes for dissemination of information on the code of conduct.

The apex court had rejected the arguments of the private schools that imposition of such conditions violated their fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) (carry out any profession) as being unreasonable.

The government has cleared a proposal to put a complete ban on employment of children up to the age of 14 both in hazardous and non-hazardous work by amending an anti-child labour Act. The Union Cabinet, which met in New Delhi Tuesday, approved bringing the amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which has also penal provisions for non compliance. As per the provision of the proposed law, a person found guilty of giving employment to children would be liable to a maximum three years imprisonment or fine up to a maximum of 50,000 rupees. Officials said, Children between 14 to 18 years will also be defined as "adolescents" in the amended Act. The amendment will also fulfill the mandate of Right to Education for free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6-15 years.

The implementation of Right to Education, RTE Act, completed two years on Sunday. Under the RTE Act, all the children in the age group of 6 to 14 years are entitled to get free and compulsory education.

The provisions of the Act also ensure free text books, school uniforms and school bags to all children.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said that RTE has led to a significant improvement in decreasing the annual average dropout rate in the country which has comedown to 6.9 per cent in 2010-11 from the earlier 9.1 per cent in 2009-10.

He said that there has been an over 5 per cent decline in the drop out rate in Bihar, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh. However, Haryana and Mizoram have shown an increase in the drop out rat