Right To Education: An Overview

A typical middle class family will never send their children to a government school but will manage all odds to secure their seat in a government college. Why this dichotomy of standards when the service provider is the same. This is a reality! The base of the pyramid and the future of the nation depends on primary education (as it comprises the majority of the student population), as we move up the ladder, it tapers, i.e. very few students graduate to higher education. Mahatma Gandhi had said that basic primary education should be free and compulsory for all but if one chooses to move up the ladder, one should bear the sole burden of finances. The Education Act, 2009 (Article 21A) was enacted to ensure free and compulsory education for the age group of 6-14 years. This act is added as a part of the right to life (Article 21), as it is argued to live a quality life, education is the first step towards the end. But the policy and its implementation is far from reality. According to the CRY Report 2013, following shocking statistics appeared on “Learning Blocks”:

11% of schools did not have toilets

18% of schools had separate toilets for girls

34% of school toilets were in poor or unusable condition

20% of schools did not have safe drinking water

23% of schools did not have blackboards

50% of schools do not have water available near toilets

60% of schools do not have a boundary wall, or it is damaged or under construction

74% of schools do not have a library

63% of schools have almost no playground

55% of schools have electricity available for less than 4 hours

1 in 40 primary schools are conducted in the open or in tents.

Introduction

Every civilization, society has validated the power of education as a tool to thrive and survive as a culture. It is very essential that knowledge and skills are passed on by the older generations to the younger generations, so that it passes smoothly to every generation. Education equips us to realize ourselves, imagine dreams and then prepare us to fulfill them. Therefore, education is a way for citizens to live a meaningful life, empower them through socio-economic mobility, reduce both social and economic inequalities and in turn trigger the simultaneous concepts of growth and development. It is a paradigm shift to be analyzed from education as a path of knowledge and education as a cost recovery system.

Education is one of the most powerful tools that shapes the character, personality of an individual, which in turn shapes the personality, character of the country. While analysing the factors that demarcate the world into developed, developing and underdeveloped, education- equity, accessibility and quality, emerges as the most important factor that helps any nation sprint to the status of a developed nation. An educated citizenry is an asset to the nation, as they contribute to the society in a fulfilling manner.

The United Nations recognized the right to education as a fundamental right that should be accessible to every human on earth and as the UN was establishing this fact, India was pushing hard to implement the right to education as a fundamental right. The National Policy on Education 1968, India’s first official document, reiterated the government’s commitment to providing primary education and this was incorporated into the National Policy on Education 1986. Eventually when the NPE 1986 was reviewed in 1990, it was recommended that the right to education be included as a fundamental right. This served as the basis on which the National Policy on Education 1992 was built. At the same time, India became a signatory to the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and India began working on legislation to introduce the right to education as a fundamental right.

In Mohini Jain v State of Karnataka (1992) the Supreme Court ruled that RTE is inherent in and flows directly from the right to life under Article 21, thus elevating RTE to the status of a fundamental right. 1 This was elaborated and clarified in Unni Krishnan v State of Andhra Pradesh and others (1993), when the Supreme Court ruled thus: “The citizens of this country have a fundamental right to education. The said right flows from Article 21. This right, however, is not an absolute right. Its content and parameters are to be determined in the light of Articles 45 and 41. In other words every child/citizen of this country has a right to free education until he completes the age of fourteen years. Thereafter the right to education is subject to the extent of economic capacity and development of the State.”

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

RTE was initially included in the Constitution of India as a non-justiciable right under the scope of the Directive Principles of State Policy. As originally adopted by the Constituent Assembly in November, 1949, Article 45 states that: “The State shall, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, make such provision for free education as may be made by the State Government for the enforcement of the said right.” “It shall strive to provide, within the State, for free and compulsory education for all children until they attain the age of fourteen years.” Further, Article 41 made the State, inter alia, to make effective provision for securing the right to education “within the limits of its economic capacity and development.”

The RTE Act, among other things, provides for the following

(i) The right of children to free and compulsory education till the completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.

(ii) It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means the obligation of the appropriate Government to provide free elementary education and to ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education of every child in the age group of six to fourteen. “Free” means that no child shall be liable to pay any fees or charges or expenses of any kind which may prevent him or her from receiving and completing elementary education.

(iii) It provides for admission of a non-admitted child to an age-appropriate class.

(iv) It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education and the sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments. (v) It prescribes norms and standards relating to, among other things, Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR), building and infrastructure, school-working day, teacher-working hours. It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified Pupil-Teacher Ratio is maintained for each school rather than the average of the State or district or block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in the posting of teachers. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-teaching work except for decennial census, elections to local authority, State Legislative Assemblies and Parliament and disaster relief.

(vi) It provides for appointment of properly trained teachers, i.e. teachers having the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

(vii) (viii) It prohibits (a) corporal punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fees; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition.

(viii) It provides for the development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, build the knowledge, potential and talents of the child and free the child from fear, trauma and anxiety through a child-friendly and child-centred learning system5

Indian visionaries have always dreamt of providing quality education to all its children irrespective of any discrimination, and now with the Right to Education, 2009, for the first time, to ensure that this dream is implemented, it was introduced as a separate chapter. As soon as anything is guaranteed by the State as a “right”, it becomes a “compulsion” for the State to take adequate steps to ensure the same for all. Initially, since it was enforceable, other parties were blamed for it, like the students themselves, their parents, the extended family or the society at large. Section 8(c) ensures that children from weaker sections or disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against and are not prevented from receiving supplementary education on any grounds. Dealing with this change is a major challenge in itself, as initially the system focused on selection from day one, even before the child formally became a part of school, and judged and labelled the child as slow, unsuccessful, even when the education provider decided to ignore the psychology that any child would learn and develop in an environment that would ensure quality education for them, thereby destroying the fabric of ‘equal’ quality.

However, this framework also reminds us that the concept of ‘merit’ which is often decided by entrance examinations results in a veil of social advantage. Learners from so-called “disadvantaged backgrounds” need more attention and support financially, academically and psychologically from a system that should promote “equal quality” and not preferential or differential quality, as this will make the poor even poorer. It is physically impossible to test learners on the basis of equal previous knowledge or skills at any grade level. It is precisely collaborative and non-threatening methods of assessment that provide qualitative education to all.

Flaws in the implementation of RTE

1) Even though the Act enumerates the minimum qualifications for a teacher, it is quite difficult to work on qualitative qualifications, unless there are more institutions for teacher education, foundation/theory, content and methodology, in-class development and beyond

2) The Act should also focus on parallel structures like Scert, Siemat, Aahaar, as this will make teaching highly professional.

3) With the no-detention policy, it is difficult to gauge the learning outcomes of any learner, and thus defeats the concept of both mastery learning and universal learning

4) The Act does not talk about maintaining quality and adherence to minimum norms, leading to granting or cancellation of recognition.

5) Lack of finances for appointment of teachers, provision of infrastructure, basic building, which does not leak in monsoons, harsh sun in summers and chilly winds in winters, safety through separate and clean toilets, clean drinking water, proper sanitation facilities. water, blackboards, multiple use of open spaces and so on.

6) To make RTE effective, it is very important to put in place a sound grievance redressal mechanism, which includes registering, thoroughly investigating and responding within a strict time frame.

7) No provision is made for any kind of education for children aged from 3-6 years. Therefore, pre-school education should be included in the framework of main schooling.

8) Experts have always argued that the failure or success of any subject should always be considered in a particular context. There is a dire need for a parallel structure, both creation and strengthening like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Why is the role of the teacher limited to just the provision of service and not actually one who creates an environment, where students are empowered enough to acquire knowledge and learning on their own. The entire focus is on the teacher and not on the system. Even today 90% of teacher education is still in the hands of private institutions, there is a huge debate as to why it is not being taken as a priority by the state.

9) Poor results of government schools are a result of over stuffing with non-academic activities, admissions happen but learners drop out, books that are provided, arrive either when the session is halfway through or over, understaffing, student absenteeism, lack of infrastructure like classrooms, chairs, desks, blackboards, toilets, drinking water, funds are released year by year, vacancies in positions. So, the basic question is how can we question the delivery of quality service.

10) Students are facing many issues, for example, many learners have to be barely convinced to come to school, in this case we need a strong system of motivation and encouragement, to ensure that they continue, the emphasis of the National Curriculum Framework, 2005 completely sidelines art and poetry, students should be taught in a language they understand and communicate in and not a third language, which makes the process more complicated. They can learn or experiment with new languages in higher grades.

11) The major issue then lies in the fact that education is under the purview of HRD ministry and early childhood education comes under the ministry of women and child development. So, the lack of coordination and differentiation in orientation is the major road block. A longitudinal study by Centre for Early Childhood Education and Development (CECED), Ambedkar University.

Delhi has found that 75% of children in pre-schooling age are going to some form of pre-schooling in the country with 55% in private facilities. “0-6 is the age where most brain development takes place so proper learning methods and concepts are crucial in preparing the child for school. But unfortunately in the absence of a framework, the referential curriculum and pedagogical standardization is missing,” says Dr. Venita Kaul, director ceced.7 Serious activists feel that the RTE Act should be reworked for the age group of 0-6 years and there should be provision for the age bracket 14-18 as well. There are various reasons for the withdrawal of students from sesschools, and hence grass-root activists believe that a continuous education, based on merit, will definitely work to meet the socio-economic objectives w.r.t. development.

Way Forward

It is not an exaggeration that the education system in India is not able to meet the objectives for which it is aimed! Various researches have shown that the learning levels of school students are on the decline. Issues of teacher absenteeism and teacher vacancies haunt government schools. Dropout rates remain high. There is nepotism, corruption and bribery in the transfers and appointments of teachers and also in the approval and recognition of institutions. The manipulation of the examination system is the bane of many. RTE is a country that is suffering from poverty. About 65% of India’s population is below the age of 35. This population can be the resource to restart the education sector of our country. And if we don’t do this, it will be a big setback for the country. Education acts as a great leveller, the only route adequate to tackle inequalities. The following suggestions can be made to enhance the effectiveness of RTE:

1) The age group should be extended on both sides, i.e. it should range from 3-17 years of age. Researches have shown that the brain of a child is most developed up to the age of 5 years, and this is the stage when a learner should be exposed to quality education and w.r.t. On the other side of the age group, the State should be involved in introducing technical specialization courses in IT, Media, Entertainment, Telecommunication, Mobile Communication, Automobile, Construction, Food Processing as announced by Shri Kapil Sibal on February 08, 2012.

2) In the past the Common School System was effective in quality education, but today the Common School System of USA should be combined with the Model School System, which is designed based on the needs and demands of the society. Public Private Partnership based on Build-Operate Transfer will be a successful model.

3) Stakeholders like parents, society and panchayat should play an active role, as education of a child is a two-way process and desired results may not be achieved if the initiative is one-way. All stakeholders need to be sensitized.

4) The provision “No child shall be detained, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until completion of elementary education” should be amended in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as it would defeat the whole concept of learning.

5) Frequent parent-teacher dialogue should be promoted.

6) The quality of mid-day meals should be constantly checked.

7) Basic amenities like classrooms, furniture, toilets and clean drinking water should be dealt with on a priority basis.

8) Teacher education should have increased budget allocation,

9) Although imparting education to children is the primary duty of the state, other non-state actors, civil society organizations should lend their support.

Conclusion

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 was enacted with the objective that the children of India have access to a child-friendly, qualitative and child-centric scheme of education. It provided a specific deadline for the implementation of various provisions, including neighbourhood schools, infrastructure, student-teacher ratio and various facilities as per the mandate of the Act. Since it was enacted in April 2010, two sets of deadlines have already passed and not a single state has been able to implement the RTE Act holistically.

Only 8% of schools across India have been able to comply with the 10 indicators of the RTE Act. All states along with Union Territories have notified the Act. 32 states have appointed monitoring agencies to ensure the implementation of the RTE Act. The budget on education has increased substantially, but it is yet to reach the required threshold for its implementation. Policies such as no corporal punishment, no private tuition, no board exams, etc. Ban on capitation fees and screening process and no-detention policy have been notified and implemented as child centric initiatives. Reforms like teacher eligibility test, changes in teacher recruitment qualification and similar requirements, teacher training system etc. have been initiated.

It is criticized by many that the Indian leadership has not been able to tackle the literacy menace even after almost 70 years of independence, thereby neglecting this primary area of human resource development for so long. Today with the concept of welfare state, it is the primary obligation of the state to provide free health services and free education to all its citizens without any discrimination, as it is an essential pre-condition for the right to life. India has become a proud country, one of the 135 countries which has guaranteed the right to education as a fundamental right to its citizens and has given it equal status to the right to life. The RTE Act with the suggestions can really prove to be a milestone for the long term goal of developing a strong base of education for the future generations of our country.

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