The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is preparing bridge courses for different classes and subjects to implement the age-appropriate admission mandatory under the Right to Education Act 2009.
As per the Act, every child has to be given age-appropriate admission, immaterial of the fact the child hasn’t learnt anything before that. For example, a 14-year-old student has to be compulsory admitted in Class 8, even if he did not attend school prior to admission.
The bridge courses will help him bridge the gap by fast-track learning in a span of a year so that he does not lag behind scholastically from his peers who attended school right from the beginning.
“The formulation of bridge courses is under way. This has been done to set up a system for the implementation of admission at the optimal age under the RTE Act. The full course material should be ready within a year,” joint director, NCERT, Dr G. Ravindra said.
He said special schools have to be set up for this. “We have suggested to the government that special schools have to be set up for such students because this cannot happen in regular schools. Such students need special training and they have to be imparted fast track education,” he said.