The Times of India reports that the law ministry has asked the HRD ministry to look into certain “crucial” aspects of the Right to Education Bill before it introduces the Bill so that it does not create large amounts of litigation once it becomes law.
THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION BILL, 2005
The Right to Education Bill, 2005 is designed to put into effect the right to free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years’.
Constitutional Basis
The Preamble to the Constitution resolves to secure to all citizens of India JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all FRATERNITY, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
Article 45 of Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution requires the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to age fourteen but there are a number of children out of school particularly from the disadvantaged groups.
Further, Article 21A of the Constitution has made free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right.
In addition to this, Article 51A (k) says that it is a fundamental duty of every citizen of India who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child/ward between the age of six and fourteen years.
Child’s Right to Free and Compulsory Education of Equitable Quality
Under this Bill, every child who has attained the age of 6 years shall have the right to participate in full time elementary education and to complete it although a child who, due to his severe or profound disability, or disadvantage, or nature of occupation of his parents, cannot be provided elementary education in a neighbourhood school, shall have the right to be provided education in an appropriate alternative environment as may be prescribed.
(It isn’t quite clear why the occupation of a child’s parents should bar his admission in a school.)
No child shall be held back in any grade or expelled from a school until he completes elementary education, except through an Order of the School Management Committee (SMC). This can only be done in the case of a delinquent child for whom all other corrective measures have been exhausted, and only after such child and his parents/guardians have been afforded an opportunity of being heard. An SMC passing such an Order must bring such Order to the notice of the Appropriate Government or local authority as the case may be, which will then give directions regarding other neighbourhood schools to which the expelled child shall be admitted for purposes of his further education
General Responsibility of the State
The State has responsibilities both towards children who have been enrolled in schools and those who have not been so enrolled. It is the responsibility of the State:
(i) To ensure the availability of a neighbourhood school for every child within a period of three years from commencement of this Act or free transportation arrangements to the nearest school or provide free residential schools/ facilities,
(ii) To ensure that every child is provided free education and parents/guardians who choose to admit their children to the nonfree quota in a school shall not have any claim on the State for providing free education to their children,
(iii) To institute and implement a mechanism for regular monitoring of enrolment, participation and attainment status of every child, and taking corrective steps wherever necessary, so that every child completes elementary education, and to make information in this regard available in the public domain, including on an on-line basis,
(iv) To ensure that children in schools receive education (a) of equitable quality, and (b) conforming to values enshrined in the Constitution, and,
(v) To ensure that economic social, cultural, linguistic, gender, administrative, locational, disability or other barriers do not prevent children from participating in, and completing elementary education.
As far as non-enrolled children are concerned, the appropriate government is required to take the necessary steps to ensure that they are either enrolled in a neighbourhood school or in special programmes in a neighbourhood school, if available, and failing that, in another school to enable them to be admitted to an age appropriate grade in a neighbourhood school as early as possible
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The appropriate government is also required to endeavour to provide facilities for pre-school education in State and fully-aided schools for children between the ages of 3 and 6 years, if such facilities are not already being provided, through Integrated Child Development Services or other government programmes, in proximity to such schools.
If a young person has, for whatever reason, been unable to complete elementary education by the age of fourteen years but is continuing his education in a school at that age, he shall continue to be provided free education in such school till he completes elementary education or attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.
Responsibility of the Government
The primary responsibility for the provision of free and compulsory education is of the concerned Local Authority and State Government. However, the Central Government has a concurrent responsibility: it is responsible for providing financial assistance to State Governments, taking action through appropriate bodies to develop a national curriculum framework, and to develop and enforce standards for training and qualification of teachers for elementary education in a participatory and consultative manner. The Central Government is also responsible for providing technical resource support to the state governments. It is required to monitor the progress of implementation of various interventions, schemes and programmes for achieving the objectives of this Act, and taking appropriate steps in case of default. It is also required to take such other steps as the President may, by Order, specify.
Schools and Teachers
State Schools are required to provide free and compulsory elementary education to all admitted children. Aided schools which are not fully aided are required to provide such education to at least such proportion of their admitted children as its annual recurring aid bears to its annual recurring expenses subject to a minimum of 25 per cent. The Bill makes provision for how many children each category of school is required to provide free and compulsory elementary education.
Children or their family cannot be subjected to any screening procedure by a school while deciding about admission to the school at the elementary stage, nor shall the family be required to make any payment in the nature of capitation fee.
Children shall be admitted to schools as far as possible at the commencement of the academic year but this is flexible.
Every teacher has a duty to regularly attend school for its full duration, transact and complete the curriculum, report every case of non-attendance to the parent or guardian concerned in the first instance, regularly assess the learning level of each child, and to provide such supplementary instruction as may be needed by the child, regularly apprise every parent/guardian and the School Management Committee about the progress of learning development of his child/ward studying in the school, and to perform such other functions as the appropriate government or the appointing authority may specify. Default by a teacher in the performance of a stipulated duty amounts to professional misconduct, and such teacher shall be liable to be punished in accordance with the provisions this Act and/or the disciplinary rules applicable. The SMC/Local Authority is required to redress teachers’ grievances to the extent that they fall within its purview, and/or to forward them to the appropriate authority for obtaining redressal in the event that such grievances do not fall within its purview.
Content and Process of Education
The curriculum and evaluation procedures must conform to the values enshrined in the Constitution. All schools must function in a child friendly and child-centred manner, and must allow the child who is capable of forming his own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, and allow the views of the child to be given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. Schools must build on the child’s knowledge, environment and cultural identity, particularly linguistic, and develop the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential, and use the child’s mother tongue as the medium of instruction as far as possible, at least during the first five years of the elementary stage. Education should rely on activity, discovery, exploration, understanding and problem-solving, be free of fear, trauma and anxiety to the child, and evaluation should be conducted in a continuous and comprehensive manner such that it tests the child’s understanding and ability to apply knowledge rather than rote learning.
No child shall be required to appear at a public examination during the elementary stage except, if at all, at the completion of such stage. Every child who completes elementary education shall be awarded a certificate to that effect by the examining body holding public examination, or, in case no public examination is held, by the school where he completes it.
Schools may carry out standardised, non-threatening assessments of learning levels of children to enable corrective action, at such regular intervals as may be prescribed by the appropriate government.
No child shall be awarded physical punishment in any form in a school. Corporal punishment inflicted by a teacher shall amount to professional misconduct, and such teacher shall be liable to be punished in accordance with this Act and/or the disciplinary rules applicable.
Monitoring of Implementation of the Act
The Central Government shall constitute a body to be known as the National Commission for Elementary Education to continuously monitor implementation of this Act, recommend corrective measures wherever necessary, and to exercise powers and perform other functions assigned to it under this Act.
The National Commission for Elementary Education, shall consist of a Chairperson, who shall be an eminent person with proven record of service in the field of education; one member each having expertise in the fields of elementary education, development of disadvantaged groups, child development/child rights, finance, and law; and a Member-Secretary having experience/expertise in educational management.
The Central Government shall, after due appropriation made by Parliament, by law in this behalf, pay to the Commission by way of grants such sums of money as it may think fit to enable the Commission to discharge its functions.
Participation in Elementary Education
No person shall prevent a child from participating in elementary education and no person shall employ or otherwise engage a child in a manner that renders his a working child.
A child shall be admitted to Grade 1 only if he has attained the age of five years and ten months before the beginning of the academic year. Ordinarily the birth certificate and, in its absence, a declaration by the parent or guardian shall be treated as prima facie proof of the age of a child, unless the admitting authority has reason to disbelieve it. In case it is disbelieved, the admitting authority shall determine the child’s age after making an enquiry in the prescribed manner.
It is the responsibility of every parent/guardian to enrol his child or ward, who has attained the age of 6 years and above in a school, and to facilitate his completion of elementary education. If a parent/guardian persistently defaults in doing this, the SMC may direct such parent/guardian to perform compulsory community service by way of child care in the school, in such manner as may be prescribed.
The management of schools which charge a capitation fee or conduct any screening procedure for admission of children may be fined.