Jamshedpur:
There is a shortage of six lakh teachers in the country and initiatives are being taken to fill the gap as the focus is to provide quality education, Union Human Resource Development Minister M M Pallam Raju today said.
"We have made strides with regard to infrastructure development, teacher recruitment as well as enrollments including that of girls and minority boys in school but need to focus more on quality education," Mr Raju said.
Initiatives are being taken to fill the gap as the focus is to provide quality education in the country, he told reporters.
Asked about the reports of violation of Right to Education Act (RTE), the minister said the act will be effectively implemented.
"We have made progress in infrastructure development, students' enrollment as well as quality education since the RTE was implemented," he said.
Asked about the report to be submitted by the probe committee looking into the Chapra mid-day meal incident in Bihar, the minister said, "We have the facts and all state governments have been instructed to ensure adequate safeguards to implement the mid-day meal scheme in schools across the country".
Besides, a National level Monitoring committee has been formed to oversee the implementation of the scheme and to ensure such incidents do not recur, he said.
Over 20 children died after consuming contaminated mid-day meal in Saran district of Bihar in July last year.