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What are the loopholes in the 93rd bill?
Aditya Kaul
The 93rd Constitutional Amendment Bill is to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament. Though
aimed at making education a fundamental right, the government is trying to shrug off some basic
responsibilities. Some clauses state that the responsibility of a child's education lies totally with the
parents. To reorient the bill, 2,400 NGOs from 15 states organised a rally in Delhi. The National Alliance
for the Fundamental Rights to Education (NAFRE) networked the programme to provide each child his
fundamental right - education. Thousands of parents participated in the 4 km Shiksha Satyagraha at
Ramlila Maidan. The protesters demanded that the authorities bring about certain changes in the bill.
According to NAFRE, the bill aimed at benefitting 250-300 million children, will actually lead to the
selective withdrawal of rights available to them. <Picture>
Says national convener, NAFRE, Sanjiv Kaura, "The issue is not literacy but education. With this bill, the
government's intentions seem doubtful. The condition of the government schools is such that two to three
classes are clubbed together. Many teachers have only passed class VII-VIII."
Overflowing classrooms and lack of even basic amenities are features of government schools. According
to the Tapas Majumdar Committee, in Maharashtra and Orissa, teachers are not present in class for about
20-25 per cent of the time. In Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, the records state that absenteeism is 40 per
cent.
"More and more students are dropping out of schools. The bill must include a clause that clearly promises
equitable quality education," said Kaura. His claims are substantiated by the Tapas Majumdar
Committee. Its findings say that of 200 million children in the primary age group, 70 million are out of
school. One of every three children in India is out of school. Half of the dropouts do so in class I or II.
Though population explosion is happening at the rate of 2.2 per cent, the rate of enrolment is 14 per cent.
The annual growth rate of schools has remained stagnant at one per cent.
Clause IV blames parents for not educating the child. Critics claim that such a clause can become a tool
for harassing and penalising parents. Data available indicates that 15 lakh parents have been jailed under
the State Compulsory Education Act between 1951 to 1971 in 19 states. "We don't say parents are not
responsible. They have an important role to play in educating a child, but till the age of 18 years, the sole
responsibility lies with the government. They are not doing anything," says Kaura.
The bill says that free and compulsory education will be provided to children between 6-14 years of age.
However, Article 45 of the Constitution promises education for all children upto 14 years. This bill even
refuses to accept the National Policy on Education which defines Early Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE) to include pre-natal care, immunisation, nutritional programmes of newborns besides early stage
education. The removal of ECCE could increase the number of dropouts in the 6-14 year age group and
lower retention rates. India is also a signatory to the UN convention on the rights of the child upto the age
of 18 years.
The total budgetary allocation to this sector in 1996-97 was 3.6 per cent of GDP. But according to the
Tapas Majumdar Committee, an additional Rs 1,37,000 crores need to be allocated in a period of 10 years.
That amounts to an additional 0.7 per cent of GDP each year. According to NAFRE, at least six per cent of
the GDP needs to be allocated on education for those below 18 years. Another bone of contention
between activists and government officials is the reluctance to talk about the involvement of private
schools in this endeavour.
The 165th report by the Law Commission of India has recommended that all private schools provide free
education to 20-25 per cent students. According to NAFRE, even though private schools receive a number
of government subsidies, they are not fulfilling any social responsibilities. Says Kaura, "These people had
to forgo their daily wages for six days to be here. People know their rights today. Our voice will reach the
Parliament."