Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari has said that despite some shortcomings in its implementation, the Right to Education, RTE Act remains a remarkable achievement that provides access, equity and inclusion for all children. Speaking at a function in New Delhi today, he said in the last six years, the Act has shown promising developments. The government's budget for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the main vehicle for the Act's implementation, has increased substantially from Rs 12,825 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 22,500 in 2016-17. Nearly 3.5 lakh schools have been opened in the last decade and 99 percent of India's rural population now has a primary school within a one kilometre radius.<br/><br/>He further said a critical appraisal of the functioning of the Right to Education reveals that large gaps exist in its implementation including the quality of education being provided, high number of drop-outs and out of school children and the absence of equity in education. The Vice President said that quantity, quality and equality are the three sides of the triangle required to ensure Right to Education. He said, decline in State funding in the key social sector programmes, including education, is of particular concern. The Vice President said monitoring the implementation of the Act needs to be taken more seriously to reduce the gaps. Besides,vibrant partnerships among the departments and organizations concerned with children, acceleration of poverty reduction programmes of the Rural Development and ensuring proper involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions by State Governments are also needed.