http://www.indg.

in/primary-education/policiesandschemes/right-to-education-bill
India clears right to education bill
Six years after an amendment was made in the Indian Constitution, the union
cabinet cleared the Right to Education Bill. It is now soon to be tabled in
Parliament for approval before it makes a fundamental right of every child to get
free and compulsory education.

More than six decades after Independence, the Indian government has cleared the
Right to Education Bill that makes free and compulsory education a fundamental
right for all children between the ages of 6 and 14.

The Union Cabinet has cleared the long-pending Right to Education Bill, which
promises free and compulsory education to every child. The move should provide
a much needed boost to the country’s education sector.

Key provisions of the Bill include: 25% reservation in private schools for
disadvantaged children from the neighbourhood, at the entry level. The
government will reimburse expenditure incurred by schools; no donation or
capitation fee on admission; and no interviewing the child or parents as part of the
screening process.

The Bill also prohibits physical punishment, expulsion or detention of a child and
deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes other than census or election
duty and disaster relief. Running a school without recognition will attract penal
action.

Observing that it was an important promise to children, as education would

become a fundamental right, India’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that it
would be the legally enforceable duty of the Centre and the states to provide free
and compulsory education.

He added that the human resources ministry would release the text of the Bill after
consulting the Election Commission, in view of assembly polls in some states.

The Group of Ministers (GoM) entrusted with the task of scrutinising the Bill
cleared the draft legislation early this month without diluting its content, which
includes the contentious provision of 25% reservation in private schools at the
entry level, for disadvantaged children in the neighbourhood. Some see this as a
way of getting the private sector to discharge the State’s constitutional obligation.

The Right to Education Bill is the enabling legislation to notify the 86th
constitutional amendment that gives every child between the age of six and 14 the
right to free and compulsory education. But it has been 61 years in the making.

In 1937, when Mahatma Gandhi voiced the need for universal education he met
with the same stonewalling about cost that dogs the issue today. The Constitution
left it as a vague plea to the State to “endeavour to provide free and compulsory
education to all children up to age 14”, but access to elementary school still
remains elusive today.

It was only in 2002 that education was made a fundamental right in the 86th
amendment to the Constitution.

In 2004, the government in power, the NDA, drafted a Bill but lost the elections
before it could be introduced. The present UPA’s model Bill was then lobbed back
and forth between the Centre and the states over the matter of funding and
responsibility.

Critics of the Bill question the age provision. They say children below six years
and above 14 should be included. Also, the government has not addressed the
issue of shortage of teachers, low skill levels of many teachers, and lack of
educational infrastructure in existing schools let alone the new ones that will have
to be built and equipped.

The Bill had earlier faced resistance from the law and finance ministries on issues
involving the states’ financial contributions. The law ministry expected problems
to arise from the 25% reservation, while human resource development ministry
estimates put the total cost at Rs 55,000 crore every year.

The Planning Commission expressed its inability to fork out the money; the state
governments said they were unwilling to supply even part of the funding. The
Centre was thus forced to think of footing the entire bill itself.

The draft Bill aims to provide elementary schools in every neighbourhood within
three years – though the word “school” encompasses a whole spectrum of
structures.

A set of minimum norms have been worked out as there’s the usual barrier of
paperwork in remote rural and poor urban areas. The State is also obliged to tide
over any financial compulsions that may keep a child out of school.

“Laws and Bills don’t make children go to school. Initially, there will be problems
because while everyone must understand their social responsibility, what matters
is whether the right children will have access to this programme. They say the fee
component will be given by the government, but it’s not fair to put that cost on
others,” says Lata Vaidyanthan, Principal, Modern School, Barakhamba Road,
New Delhi.

Still, educationists who’ve rooted for the Bill argue that sharing social
responsibility should be seen as a privilege, not a burden.

Source : InfoChange India

History of the act
December 2002

86th Amendment Act (2002) via Article 21A (Part III) seeks to make free and
compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group 6-14
years.

October 2003

A first draft of the legislation envisaged in the above Article, viz., Free and
Compulsory Education for Children Bill, 2003, was prepared and posted on this
website in October, 2003, inviting comments and suggestions from the public at
large.

2004

Subsequently, taking into account the suggestions received on this draft, a revised
draft of the Bill entitled Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2004, was prepared
and posted on the http://education.nic.in website.

June 2005

The CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) committee drafted the ‘Right to
Education’ Bill and submitted to the Ministry of HRD. MHRD sent it to NAC
where Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson. NAC sent the Bill to PM for his
observation.

14th July 2006

The finance committee and planning commission rejected the Bill citing the lack
of funds and a Model bill was sent to states for the making necessary
arrangements. (Post-86th amendment, States had already cited lack of funds at
State level)

19th July 2006

CACL, SAFE, NAFRE, CABE invited ILP and other organizations for a Planning
meeting to discuss the impact of the Parliament action, initiate advocacy actions
and set directions on what needs to be done at the district and village levels.
FAQs
1. Why is the Bill important?
The Bill is important because it is the first step in the direction of the
government’s active role in ensuring implementation of the Constitutional
Amendment. And as important, the Bill:

• Legislates provision of free and compulsory elementary and secondary

education
 • Provides for a school in every neighborhood
• Provides for a School Monitoring Committee – elected representatives of
the community to ensure proper functioning
• Mandates that no child in the age group 6-14 shall be employed

All this are right steps to lay the foundation for the development of a common
public school system that can provide quality education to all the children, thus
preventing exclusion of socially and economically disadvantaged population.

2. Why is the chosen age group 6 - 14?

The bill focuses on providing primary to high school education compulsorily to all
children and also the education given in this age group would be the ground work
for their future.