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A move in the right direction despite gaps: educationists

Siddhesh Inamdar

“Right to Education Bill is at odds with Juvenile Justice Act”

“Education up to the age of 14 does not make one fit for gainful employment”
“Education is as core a subject as Defence, and should remain in public domain”

MUMBAI: The landmark Right to Education Bill (RTE), passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 20, now awaits Lok Sabha approval.

Educationists have welcomed the bill, but with a note of caution. Speaking to The Hindu, Farida Lambay, a member of the State Commission on the Protection of Child Rights in Maharashtra, is happy that the RTE has sought to universalise quality education for children, but pointed out several lacunae.

“The biggest one is that the bill brings within its purview only children in the 6-14 age group. This is at odds with the Juvenile Justice Act, which defines children as those under 18,” she said.

“The right to work should be given to those in the 14-18 age group if the bill implies that they are adults,” said Ramesh Joshi, deputy general secretary of the All India Federation of Teachers Organisations.

The age specification is in keeping with the 86th Amendment Act of 2002, which made free education for children in the 6-14 age group a fundamental right.

“However, education up to the age of 14 does not make one fit for gainful employment. The Constitution should be amended to provide free education at least till the completion of class X,” said Bidisha Fouzdar of Child Rights and You (CRY).

As for the provision reserving 25 per cent seats in private schools so that children are able to receive free education in a “neighbourhood school,” Priya Zutshi of CRY said, “This is like charity. It will make students admitted on reserved seats feel diffident and discriminated.”

To make education a fundamental right in the true sense, educationists have advocated implementation of the Neighbourhood School concept as envisaged by the Kothari Commission in 1966, which stipulated that only children living within a certain distance from the school be admitted there.

The thrust was on public schools and on making all of them equally good, so that a child need not travel far to receive quality education.

The RTE, on the other hand, has sought to reduce government expenditure on education, says Mr. Joshi. In the 2009-10 Union budget, the allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was Rs. 13,100 crore and for the Mid-day Meal Scheme Rs. 8000 crore, barely up since last year.

According to CRY, there are 400 million children in India, 70 per cent of whom come from a poor background.

“Education is as core a subject as Defence, and so should remain in the public domain,” said Ms. Fouzdar.

“The U.S. spends 5.9 per cent of its GDP [Gross Domestic Product] on education, while Malaysia spends eight per cent. However, we spend only 3.3 per cent. Public schools like the Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas have been a success. Their models should be replicated,” she said.

Despite the lacunae, the bill was a step in the right direction, Mr. Joshi said. “It can be amended with time. By getting it passed, the government has shown it is sincere about providing universal education.”

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