New Delhi, December 15
There’s some good news for children, especially those belonging to the weaker sections. They can now hope to realise their education dreams, courtesy a Bill, which promises radical changes in the primary education system of the country and seeks to make free and compulsory elementary education right of every child.
Introducing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, minister of state for human resource development D. Purandeswari said, “Over the years there has been a spatial and numerical expansion of elementary schools in the country, but the goal of universal elementary education continues to elude us.”
The number of dropouts, particularly those from underprivileged groups, remains very high. Moreover, the quality of learning was also less than satisfactory, added the minister.
The main objective of the bill is to ensure that every child in the age group of 6 to 14 receives elementary education irrespective of his or her ability to pay the fees. It also states that the provision of free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality to children from disadvantaged and weaker sections
was not merely the responsibility of schools run or supported by the government but also of schools, which were not dependent on government funds.
Under the provisions of the Bill, every child will be provided elementary education in a neighbourhood school. Also, no child is liable to pay any kind of fees or charge or expense, which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. The legalisation proposes to establish schools in areas without such facility within a period of three years of the commencement of the Act.
The central and state governments will have concurrent responsibility for providing funds. Other key provisions in the Bill are that no donation or capitation or interviewing the child or parents will form part of a screening procedure. The Bill is the enabling legislation to notify the 86th Constitutional amendment and was passed by Parliament in December 2002. It was cleared by the Cabinet on October 31 after being considered at several levels by the group of ministers.
