Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

Activists begin drive for common school system

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI SEPT. 9. Having forced the Centre to declare education a fundamental right, activists have started a drive for a common school system in the country.

"The state is now constitutionally responsible for providing schooling to every child - rich and poor. But what is missing is equality in education," said Sanjeev Kaura, convener, National Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education.

He was speaking at a two-day State-level consultation on `Common School System', organised by the Tamil Nadu Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education (TAFRE) here today.

Mr. Kaura outlined five points which defined the CSS concept: State responsibility; 100 per cent government funding; complete control of school by community; true decentralisation of power in running schools; and authority for people involved with the schools to decide curriculum.

"Almost all countries have adopted the CSS, the glaring exceptions being Africa, Latin America and the Indian subcontinent."

On whether it would be affordable, Mr. Kaura said that according to a Union Government report, it would not be expensive to provide good education to all children in the age group 6-14. "As per 1996 figures, it would cost the Government about Rs. 14,000 crores a year to send students in that age group to school. This is a 0.7 per cent additional average expenditure a year for 10 years."

Mr. Kaura also stressed that the CSS was not an NGO agenda. "Parliament committed itself thrice to implementing the system — in the 1968, 1986 and the 1992 education policies. But, it has never been implemented".

No common curriculum

A common school system does not mean common curriculum throughout India, said V. Vasanthi Devi, Chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women. "It will be contextual and relevant to the geo-political background and traditions of the respective schools," she said.

"These will be like neighbourhood schools and all children in that area, rich or poor, would go to that school. In the present system, the officials are not concerned about the quality of education in public schools. If their children went to common schools, they would be more concerned about the quality. There will be an overnight transformation in public schools then."

Compulsory quality education could not be achieved without adoption of the common school system. "The question now is not if the CSS is necessary, but how it should be implemented," said Ms. Vasanthi Devi.

M. Ananda Krishnan, Chairperson, Madras Institute of Development Studies, suggested for CSS implementation: Move a private member Bill in the Assembly or Parliament, or appeal in court.

The focus should no longer be on mere education, but on universal secondary and senior secondary education.

Quoting State Government statistics for 2001, he noted that of 57.5 lakh children in the 6-11 age group, 56.7 lakhs were in school, and of the 37.6 lakh children in the 11-14 age group, 35.2 lakh were studying.

The numbers, however, dwindled in the higher age groups. Only 15.9 lakhs out of 23.3 lakh children in the 14-16 age group were still in school, and a mere 8.98 lakhs out of 25.8 lakh children in the 16-18 age group continued studies.

"It is easy to put children in primary school, but about 25 lakh children who should be in middle school are not studying," said Dr. Ananda Krishnan.

Another aspect he stressed on was infrastructure. "Many do not even have toilets. We need minimum standard facilities in schools, and have to force governments to increase budgets for school infrastructure."

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