JOINING HANDS IN THE INTEREST OF CHILDREN

The 86th constitutional amendment (2002), made

elementary education a fundamental right & the RTE Act

(2009) described the modalities of the provision, gave the tools

to provide quality education to children. When challenged by

private schools as unreasonable, the SC Bench said: content of

Article 21A flows from Article 45 (as it then stood), the 2009 Act

has been enacted to give effect to Article 21A. For the above

reasons, since the Article 19(1) (g) right is not an absolute right as

Article 30(1), the 2009 Act cannot be termed as unreasonable.

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Elementary education forms a foundation for all

levels of learning and development. It empowers

and equips individuals with analytical capabilities,

instills confidence and fortifies them with will to

achieve goal-setting competencies.

It, therefore, plays a pivotal role in improving the

socioeconomic condition of India and for India to

grow, it is imperative that it has in place a strong

elementary school driven education system.

Universal Elementary Education

• The role of Universal Elementary Education (UEE) for

strengthening the social fabric of democracy through

provision of equal opportunities to all has been

accepted since the inception of our Republic.

• The original Article 45 in the Directive Principles of

State Policy in the Constitution mandated the State to

endeavour to provide free and compulsory education

to all children up to age fourteen in a period of ten

years.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

• Passed by the Indian parliament on 4 August

2009. It describes the modalities of the

provision of free and compulsory education for

children between 6 and 14 in India under Article

21A of the Indian Constitution.

• India became one of the few countries to make

education a fundamental right of every child

when the act came into force on April 1, 2010. 4

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The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002,

inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide

free and compulsory education of all children in the age

group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in

such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE)

Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation

envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a

right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and

equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain

essential norms and standards.

SC backs Right to Education

The apex court upheld

the constitutional validity

of the Act and directed

all schools, including

privately-run schools,

irrespective of the board

they are affiliated to, to

admit from this

academic year (2012-

13)

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at least 25% students from

socially and economically

backward families. These

students will be

guaranteed free education

from class I till they reach

the age of 14.

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SC Bench said: “To put an obligation on the unaided non-minority

school to admit 25 per cent children in class I under Section 12(1)

(c) cannot be termed as an unreasonable restriction. Such a law

cannot be said to transgress any constitutional limitation. The

object of the 2009 Act is to remove the barriers faced by a child

who seeks admission to class I and not to restrict the freedom

under Article 19(1) (g).

“From the scheme of Article 21A and the 2009 Act, it is clear that

the primary obligation is of the State to provide for free and

compulsory education to children between the age of 6 and 14

years and, particularly, to children who are likely to be prevented

from pursuing and completing the elementary education due to

inability to afford fees or charges.”

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The SC judgment said: “We hold that the Right of

Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is

constitutionally valid and shall apply to a school

established, owned or controlled by the appropriate

Government or a local authority; an aided school

including aided minority school(s) receiving aid or grants

to meet whole or part of its expenses from the

appropriate Government or the local authority; a school

belonging to specified category; and an unaided non-

minority school not receiving any kind of aid or grants to

meet its expenses from the appropriate Government or

the local authority.”

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The 86th constitutional amendment (2002),

And the RTE Act (2009), have given us the

tools to provide quality education to all our

children. It is now imperative that we the

people of India join hands to ensure the

implementation of this law in its true

spirit. The Government is committed to

this task though real change will happen

through collective action.

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With this, India has moved forward to a rights

based framework that casts a legal obligation on

the Central and State Governments to

implement this fundamental child right as

enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution,

in accordance with the provisions of the RTE

Act.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented

as India‟s main programme for universalising

elementary education. Its overall goals include

universal access and retention, bridging of

gender and social category gaps in education

and enhancement of learning levels of children.

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Both the Central and state governments are responsible

for ensuring effective implementation of the Act. There has

been significant improvement in terms of the number of

primary schools, largely due to additional resources made

available through the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan to bridge

existing gaps. The scheme is now being extended to the

secondary school level as well.

In addition to the Government‟s initiative, the private

sector has also played a role in improving the state of

education in the country and continues to do so.

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Reservation of 25% seats in private schools for children from poor families • The school may be there

but students may not attend, or drop out after a few months.

• Through school & social mapping, many issues need to be addressed that prevent a weak child from completing the process of education.

• The principle behind 25% reservation is to promote social integration.

A school is a perfect setting

where existing inequalities

in society can be bridged

if the school encourages

students to integrate

psychologically,

emotionally and academically.

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RTE Act –What does it specify?

• The Act makes education a fundamental right of every

child between the ages of 6 to 14 and specifies the

minimum norms in government schools.

• It specifies reservation of 25% seats in private schools for

children from poor families, prohibits the practice of

unrecognized schools, and makes provisions for no

donation or capitation and no interview of the child or

parent for the admission. 15

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

• The act also provides that, no child shall be held back, expelled, or

required to pass a board examination until completion of

elementary education.

• Provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them at-

par with the students of the same age.

• Right to Education of Person with Disabilities till 18 years of age

has been made a Fundamental Right.

• The act provides for establishment of the National Commission for

Protection of Child Rights and State Commissions for supervising

of proper implementation of the act, looking after the complaints

and protection of Child Rights.

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The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

(RTE) Act, 2009 has come into force with effect from April

1, 2010. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Framework of

Implementation and norms for interventions have been

revised to correspond with the provisions of the RTE Act.

This includes

• interventions, inter alia for opening new primary and

upper primary schools as per the neighbourhood

norms notified by State Governments in the RTE

Rules,

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• support for residential schools for children in areas

which are sparsely populated, or hilly or densely

forested with difficult terrain, and for urban deprived

homeless and street children in difficult circumstances,

• special training for admission of out-of-school children

in age appropriate classes, additional teachers as per

norms specified in the RTE Act,

• two sets of uniforms for all girls, and children belonging

to SC/ST/BPL families,

• strengthening of academic support through block and

cluster resource centres, schools, etc.

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Since RTE Act came into force,

• 50,672 new schools,

• 4.98 lakh additional classrooms,

• 6.31 lakh teachers, etc

• have been sanctioned to States and UTs

under SSA. The fund sharing pattern between

the Central and State Governments has also

been revised to a sharing ratio which is more

favourable to States Governments.

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Activity Timeframe

Establishment of neighbourhood

schools 3 years (by 31st March, 2013)

Provision of school infrastructure

All weather school buildings

One-classroom-one-teacher

Head Teacher-cum-Office room

Library

Toilets, drinking water

Barrier free access

Playground, fencing, boundary

walls

3 years (by 31st March, 2013)

Provision of teachers as per prescribed

Pupil Teacher Ratio 3 years (by 31st March, 2013)

Training of untrained teachers 5 years (by 31st March 2015)

Quality interventions and other

provisions With immediate effect

The RTE Act mandates the following timeframe for

implementation of its provisions:

Struggle for universalizing

elementary education

• Everybody acknowledges the value of education in

the overall development of the children.

• Administrators

• Educationists

• Development professionals

• Economists

• Parents

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Administrators focus on

• Enrolment

• Availability of schools within walking

distance

• Provisioning for infrastructure

• Deployment of teachers.

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Educationists: What is Learnt, how is it presented?

are concerned about

• Whether or how children learn, and the

• Burden of syllabi, which is passed on to

• Tuition centres or Parents

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• Development professionals discuss

• The impact of years of schooling, for example on

• the age of marriage and

• family size.

• ‘Development’ is a blessing sustained by the beneficial

environment: “Trees give fruits to assist others. Rivers

flow to help others. Cows produce milk to feed others. In

the same way, our own human body should also be

employed for the assistance of others”: Administrators,

Educationists, Economists, Development professionals

and Parents.

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Economists

• talk about the economic returns on

Investment in education.

• Our economist PM says „ An education that

enables them to acquire the skills,

knowledge, values and attitudes necessary

to become responsible and active citizens of

India‟ is our commitment.

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Parents

have expectations from the education system

• that it should equip their children for gainful

employment, and

• economic well being.

• उद्यमेन हि सिद्धयन्ति कायााणि न मनोरथ ैः । न हि िुप्िस्य सििंिस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मगृाैः

• Any work will not get accomplished just merely

by desiring for it's completion. A 'prey' will not

by itself come to the mouth of a sleeping lion.

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Fulfill goals of universal elementary education

• The enforcement of fundamental

right to education provides us a

unique opportunity to mount a

mission encompassing all the above

discourses to fulfill our goal of

universal elementary education. 27

Implementation of RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT

provides for all children the benefit of free

and compulsory

• admission,

• attendance and

• completion

of elementary education.

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In India, since we gained freedom of self governance,

• Undoubtedly, much progress has occurred

since the last sixty years of our

independence and

• many more children with a diverse

background are accessing school.

• Yet....

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Dropped out, child labourers

• There are ‘invisible’ children_ children bonded to

work with an employer,

• young boys grazing cattle or working in a dhabha

• girls working in the fields or as domestic help or

caring for younger siblings, and

• children being subjected to early marriage. Many of

these children are formally enrolled in a school but

have either dropped out or have never been there.

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Extremely vulnerable ones

• Many others such as migrant and

street children, who live in extremely

vulnerable conditions; denying them

education is against the universal

nature of human rights.

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Enrol, attend, learn, and

Be empowered by education

• Providing universal access itself is no longer

enough; making available school facility is

essential but not sufficient.

• A monitoring mechanism is needed to ensure

that all children attend school regularly and

participate in the learning process.

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Not attending, drop-out in a few months?

• Focus must be on the factors that prevent children from regularly attending & completing elementary education. Children

from

• weaker sections and

• disadvantaged groups, as also

• girls.

• SOCIAL,CULTURAL,ECONOMIC, LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGIC ISSUES

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Good education is empowering

• विद्याविधधवििीनेन ककिं कुऱीनेन देहिनाम ्। अकुऱीनोऽवऩ विद्याढ्यो द िि रवऩ ितद्यिे ॥

• Of what use is nobility of family if a person is illiterate?

• A learned man is respected by Gods too though he does not belong to a noble family. 35

Free, compulsory and of high quality

• The right to education is free, compulsory and

it includes good quality education for all.

• A curriculum not only provides good reading

and understanding of text books but also

includes learning through activities,

exploration and discovery.

• Comprehension, competence,

competitiveness and creativity should be

developed, not forgetting compassion.

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Education Depts of State & Union Governments have direct responsibility

To provide

• schools,

• infrastructure,

• trained teachers,

• curriculum and

• teaching-learning material, and

• mid-day meal.

A well coordinated mechanism is needed for

inter- sectoral collaboration & convergence. 37

On the part of the whole Govts:

• The factors that contribute to the

achievement of the overall goal of

universalizing elementary education as a

fundamental right requires action on the

part of the whole Governments.

A well coordinated mechanism is needed for

inter- sectoral collaboration & convergence.

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Timely & appropriate financial allocations, redesign school spaces

• The Finance Department to release funds

at all levels.

• The Public Works Dept. to re-conceive and

redesign school spaces from the pedagogic

perspective & Address issues of including

disabled children through barrier free

access.

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Provide Social & Location Mapping of schools, Water & sanitation facilities

• The Dept. of Science & Technology to provide geo-spatial technology to perform at

grass-root survey.

• Provision of access to sufficient safe drinking water

• Provision and access to adequate sanitation facilities, specially for girl child.

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ROLE OF CIVIL SOCEITY in RTE

• Above all, people‟s groups, civil society

organizations & voluntary agencies will play

an crucial role in the implementation of the

RTE Act.

• This will help build a new perspective on

inclusiveness, encompassing gender &

social inclusion, & ensure that these become

integral & crosscutting concerns informing

different aspects like training, curriculum and

classroom transaction. 41

ROLE OF CIVIL SOCEITY

• A VIBRANT CIVIL SOCEITY MOVEMENT

CAN ENSURE THAT THE PARENT / CHILD

FROM WEAKER OR DISADVANTAGED

SECTIONS BECOME AWARE OF THE

VALUE OF EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION AND PUT IN

SERIOUS EFFORTS ON THEIR PART.

• NGO contribution of knowledge, ideas and

solutions to the challenges are needed.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:

"We are committed to ensuring that all

children, irrespective of gender and social

category, have access to education. An

education that enables them to acquire the

skills, knowledge, values and attitudes

necessary to become responsible and active

citizens of India

Good teacher‟s company enables.

• यैः ऩठति सऱखति ऩश्यति ऩररऩचृ्छिी ऩन्डििान ् उऩाश्रयवऩ । िस्य हदिाकरककरि ैः नसऱनी दऱिं इि विस्िाररिा बुवद्धैः ॥

• One who reads, writes, sees, inquires, lives in

the company of learned men, his intellect

expands like the lotus leaf does

because of the rays of sun.

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► A key issue being raised against the

provisions of the RTE Act is the absence

of provisions for improving the job conditions of

teachers. This leads to limited availability of

quality teachers in rural or inaccessible areas.

► According to analysts, teacher training is one

of the biggest requirements of the

current system and has been neglected by the

Act.

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Since the Government has finite resources,

reimbursing expenses to private schools will

be at the expense of government schools.

Therefore, it should be made voluntary for

private schools reserve seats for children from

disadvantaged sections of society. It is unfair

to make this applicable for all private schools.

“The whole idea of reimbursement of

expenses to private schools is a case of poor

economics. If the government is unable to

meet the expenses from where will it

generate additional resources to reimburse

the private schools”.

Prof. Praveen Jha, JNU

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