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- 1. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill As passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 th July 2009
- 11. Commonly raised issues Exclusion of 0-6 age group; also suggestions for extending Bill to age 18 Bill derived from the 86 th Constitutional Amendment. Hence restricted to 6-14 age group. No explicit reference to child labour Clause 8 casts a compulsion on the State to provide free and compulsory education to every child. Explanation to Clause 8(a): ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate Government to provide free compulsory education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of EE by every child. Far better way of curbing child labour – by legally declaring that every child has to be in school.
- 12. Commonly raised issues On the inclusion of private schools Forefront of all controversies. One view: Article 21-A states that ‘the State shall provide free and compulsory education’ means that schools which receive no financial aid from the Government should be kept outside the purview of the Bill. Another view: ‘State’ does not merely mean governmental system, but includes government and private systems. Private fee-charging schools are an impediment to the concept of ‘common school system’, and should be brought within the ambit of the legislation. The Bill avoids both these extreme positions: provides for 25% admission to children belonging to weaker sections & disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood
- 13. Commonly raised issues Adequacy of norms and standards This is a beginning. Clause 20 of the Bill also provides for the Central Government to amend the schedule by adding to or omitting from the schedule. As we progress the norms and standards can be enhanced. Inclusion of parents in the compulsion laws. Why is there no provision for punishment for parents? Most children who do not attend school are from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. Penalizing their parents would be tantamount to penalizing poverty. Many children are first generation learners, deprived of a learning environment at home, and drop out because of difficulty in coping with the curriculum. Inflicting penalties on parents because their children have been pushed out of the education system would be discriminatory.
- 14. Commonly raised issues Why no detention, no examinations? Wouldn’t quality suffer? Examinations are known to produce mental trauma. Fear of failure, particularly at a tender age, leads to loss of self esteem. ‘ No detention policy’ does not imply abandoning procedures that test the learning abilities of the child; ‘ No detention policy’ implies putting in place a continuous and comprehensive procedure of child evaluation and recording it so that the teacher can use it as a guide in helping each child reach desired levels of educational achievement.
Editor's Notes
- There has been a lot of debate on elementary education as a fundamental right. I propose to take you through the main issues
- The 86 th Constitutional Amendment was passed 5 years ago in December 2002. It provided for introduction of Article 21-A, emanating from Article 21 being the Fundamental Right to Life. Article 21-A provides for free and compulsory education to children in the 6-14 age group as a Fundamental Right in the Constitution of India. Consequent to this insertion the existing Art 45 in the Directive Principles was replaced and made applicable to children in the 0-6 age group. The 86 th Constitutional Amendment also stipulates that it shall come into force from such date as notified in the official gazette. This notification has not issued on account of the issue of the consequential legislation under Art 21A. Thus the Constitutional Amendment for free and compulsory education is not yet in force.
- At least six draft Bills – The last one has reached Parliament
- So what does the Bill provide: Child Rights Not just enrollment, but right to completion of elementary education Those who are not enrolled, would be facilitated to join an age appropriate class – its traumatic for older children to sit in class with younger children; so therefore special training to enable them to join a class appropriate to their age. There is facility for these children to complete EE even after they cross age 14 The issue of certificates – age certificate, transfer certificate – causes huge harassment – the Bill doesn’t do away with these, but attempts to soften the stress they cause. Has an wide ranging definition for ‘free’ covering any financial barrier that prevents a child from completing 8 years of education – It does not itemize these, because financial barriers would differ from area to area Clarifies ‘compulsion’ – as compulsion on State, not parents No child to be declared failed – follows a no-detention policy; no child to be expelled; bars corporal punishment
- Teachers One of the problems we face on account of the huge expansion of the education system is that we do not have institutional capacity for producing trained teachers. There is a debate between academics and administrators. Academics feel that on no account should untrained teachers be appointed; administrators take a practical view – that you cannot let a generation of children be deprived of education for want of trained teachers – therefore many states are resorting to engaging untrained teachers. Most of the untrained teachers are in the educationally backward states – huge numbers (40%) in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, etc. The Bill provides a period of five years for all untrained teachers to acquire the requisite qualifications. The Bill also lays down the academic responsibilities of teachers – that they shall attend school regularly, in time, transact the curriculum, provide remedial teaching, where required, ensure contact with the parents of children. It prohibits private tuition – we hope that this will ensure that teachers spend more time in school Also prohibits deployment of non-educational activities – cattle census, water pump census, tree census. Except for decennial census (once in 10 years, disaster relief – (Kosi breach, tsunami, Gujarat earthquake), elections – all levels: Parliament, Assembly and Local Bodies.
- In so far as schools are concerned, the Bill lays down certain norms and standards – applicable to all, government and private. These relate to infrastructure – all weather schools, one class per teacher – so we shouldn’t have a situation of two teachers, each teaching two-three classes, and sharing the same room. Infrastructure norms also include provision for drinking water and toilets – these days a lot of emphasis is given to provisioning for drinking water and toilets by the DWM and TSC. It lays down a PTR: 1:30 at primary and 1:35 at upper primary, with provision for subject teachers – one each for Science, Math's and Social Science at upper primary School days – officially are approx 220 – 230 per year. But in reality schools remain close for more than half the prescribed calendar Working hours for teachers – 45 hours including preparation time. Community participation ensure through SMCs
- These provisions are applicable to private schools: No capitation No screening tests for admission No school to function without recognition 25% admission to children from disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood,
- Responsibilities of appropriate government, local authority Read
- Curriculum This is the crux of quality and equity
- The bottom-line is how do you ensure that the child’s right is protected: