Education As a Child Right: an Analysis of Right to Education Act

EDUCATION AS A CHILD RIGHT: AN ANALYSIS OF RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT

V.M.RAJASEKHAR DR.R.SEKAR

Ph.D Research Scholar Asst.Professor

Dept. Of Political Science Political Science Wing

Annamalai University (DDE) Annamalai university Annamalainagar Annamalainagar

ABSTRACT

Education transforms human beings from ignorance to enlightenment. Apart from that education is being viewed as fundamental right across the globe and indispensable for the exercise of all human rights as people with access to education can develop the skills, capacity and confidence to secure these rights. Like human rights, it is universal and inalienable. Regardless of gender, religion, race, social and economic status everyone is entitled to it. India has moved forward to a rights-based framework under the RTE Act that casts a legal obligation on the central and state governments to implement this fundamental right.

INTRODUCTION

Education transforms human beings from ignorance to enlightenment and a nation from underdevelopment to rapid social and economic development. It is believed that education leads to individual freedom and empowerment, thereby making an individual self-reliant. More importantly, education is being viewed as fundamental right across the globe and indispensable for the exercise of all human rights as people with access to education can develop the skills, capacity and confidence to secure these rights. Like human rights, it is universal and inalienable. Regardless of gender, religion, race, social and economic status everyone is entitled to it. Thus, education as a human right means:

·  The right to education is guaranteed legally for all without any discrimination

·  States have the obligation to protect, respect and fulfil the right to education

·  There are ways to hold States accountable for violations or deprivations of the right to education[i].

Rights based approaches to education have become a focus within the education sector in the recent past. The goal of a human rights-based approach to education is simple: to assure every child a quality education that respects and promotes his or her right to dignity and optimum development. Achieving this goal is, however, enormously more complex[ii].

The right to education encompasses both entitlements and freedoms, including:

·  Right to free and compulsory primary education

·  Right to available and accessible secondary education (including technical and vocational education and training), made progressively free

·  Right to equal access to higher education on the basis of capacity made progressively free

·  Right to fundamental education for those who have not received or completed primary education

·  Right to quality education both in public and private schools

·  Freedom of parents to choose schools for their children which are in conformity with their religious and moral convictions

·  Freedom of individuals and bodies to establish and direct education institutions in conformity with minimum standards established by the State Academic freedom of teachers and students[iii].

International Instruments Concerning the Growth of Right to Education

The moral foundations of Right to Education are laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. This has since been affirmed in numerous global human rights treaties, including the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Child (1959), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)[iv].Besides, other conventions and conferences of International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other International bodies contained provisions concerning right to education.

Universalisation of Elementary Education and Right to Free & Compulsory Education for Children in India

Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) as a goal has the potential to strengthen the socio-economic base of the nation. Efforts were made during the British regime and after India became independent to realise it. Recognising the importance of it, 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 the age of 14 years within a period of 10 years. The Government of India appointed various commissions and formulated policies based on their recommendations with a view to achieve UEE in the country. A new article 21A was added in Part I of the Constitution of India through 86th Constitutional Amendment to make elementary education a fundamental right. The RTE Act became a reality in 2009. It came in to force from April 1, 2010.

Besides, as follow up to National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 & 1992, a number programmes were initiated in India with a view to achieving UEE. They include Operation Black Board (OBB), Siksha Karmi Project (SKP), the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project (APPEP), the Bihar Education Project (BEP), the Siksha Karmi Project (SKP), Lok Jumbish project (LJP), the District Primary Education Project (DPEP) and establishment of District Institute of Teacher Educations (DIETs).

The latest scheme is Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) with roots in DPEP. The programme aims to provide education to all children in the age group of 6-14. The initiative has contributed to significant spatial and numerical expansion of elementary schools in the country. Today, access and enrolment at the primary stages of education have reached very close to universal levels. The SSA programme is an endeavour to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities of all children, through the provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan had been set with specific targets like all children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007, children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010, focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life, bridge all gender and social category gaps at the primary stage by 2007 and at the elementary education level by 2010.

The programme has made significant strides over the years. It has provided right solution to the problem of out of school children. The number of out of school children at elementary stage has come down significantly. The gender gap has narrowed down and the percentage of enrolment of children belonging to marginalized sections has increased drastically.

However, there are certain shortcomings in the implementation of the programme. The growing dropout rate in some schools, quality of learning etc are not satisfactory. With a view to address these issues, the RTE has been introduced to directly counter the problems of illiteracy, poor quality infrastructure and learning level in the elementary education sector. However, the road to the RTE Act has not been easy. The exercise of consulting all stakeholders including the states and taking them on board has been time consuming. The RTE Act provides for the:

·  Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.

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

·  It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.

·  It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

·  It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, 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 just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.

·  It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

·  It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition,

·  It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centred learning[v].

Children with disabilities and those belonging to minority communities are also covered under the Act. As per the RTE Act, 2009, every child has the right to full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school that satisfies certain essential norms and standards. The need to address inadequacies in retention, residual access, particularly of un-reached children, and the questions of quality are the most compelling reasons for the addition of Article 21A in the Constitution of India.

Under the RTE, ‘free education’ has been defined, and it states that no child, other than one who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the age group of 6–14 years. With this, India has moved forward to a rights-based framework under the RTE Act that casts a legal obligation on the central and state governments to implement this fundamental right.

The roadmap for universalizing elementary education is derived from the definite timeframes mandated in the RTE Act; it prescribes a timeframe of three years for the establishment of neighbourhood schools, provision of school infrastructure with an all-weather building and basic facilities, and provision of teachers as per prescribed Pupil–Teacher Ratio (PTR) (30:1). Further, the RTE Act stipulates that all untrained teachers in the system must be trained within a period of five years from the date of enforcement of the Act. The rest of the provisions are required to be implemented with immediate effect.

After enacting the RTE Act, 2009, the state governments have taken steps for implementing the same. All state and union territory governments have issued the RTE Rules, or adopted the Central RTE Rules, except for Goa and Karnataka, which are yet to notify the state RTE rules. Several states have issued instructions/notifications for (a) Banning capitation fees, corporal punishment, detention and expulsion, and private tuition by school teachers. (b) Specifying working days/instructional hours; and (c) constituting the SCPCR or Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA). The central government has also taken several steps for implementation of the RTE Act. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and the NCERT has been notified as the academic authorities under Sections 23(1) and 29(1) of the RTE Act respectively. The NAC has been constituted under Section 33(1) of the Act. The NCTE has laid down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in schools. The main challenges under the RTE Act include bringing out-of-school children into the schools, filling up the large vacancy of teacher posts, training of untrained teachers, and adherence by schools to the norms and standards specified in the Schedule of the RTE Act. The central government, along with the state governments, is taking several steps for addressing these issues, including resource allocation for meeting the infrastructural and manpower gaps as per the revised SSA norms.

1

[i] http://www.right-to-education.org/page/understanding-education-right

[ii].A human rights based approach to education: UNICEF, 2007

[iii]http://www.right-to-education.org/page/understanding-education-right

[iv] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund: A Human Rights Based Approach to Education for All, UNESCO, UNICEF, Paris, New York, 2007, p. 7.

[v] http://mhrd.gov.in/rte

References

1)  A human rights based approach to education: UNICEF, 2007

2)  Aradhya N and Kashyap A, (2006), “The Fundamentals of the Fundamental Right to Education in India”, Books for change, Bangalore

3)  Azim Premji Foundation (2011), Right to Education Act: Key Gaps in Policy and Implementation

4)  Kamath, Asha KVD &Shivaswamy M, (2013), Awareness on Right to Education Act-2009 among Elementary School Teachers, Indian Journal of Education Research Experimentation and Innovation, Vol 3, Issue 5, Sept 2013

5)  MHRD, Govt. of India, (2012), Annual Status of Education Report, rural (ASER) report, Pratham, ASER Centre, New Delhi.

6)  SSA 2011-12 & Statistical Abstract 2012-13

7)  Status of Implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: Year Four (2013-14), Report of RTE Forum, March 2014

8)  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund: A Human Rights Based Approach to Education for All, UNESCO, UNICEF, Paris, New York, 2007, p. 7.

9)  Vyas, Saroj (2012), “A Study On The Awareness Among Elementary School Teachers In The National Capital Region On “The Right Of Children To Free And Compulsory Education Act, 2009” (Right To Education Act)”, Unpublished Research Paper

Websites

http://www.right-to-education.org/page/understanding-education-right

http://www.right-to-education.org/page/understanding-education-right

http://www.mhrd.gov.in/rte

http://www.dise.in

http//www.schoolreportcards.in