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DMK blackmail
Coveted honour |
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Confessions
Defence expenditure
‘Let me pack my bag’
Upholding the HRD Ministry’s stand, a recent verdict of the Delhi High Court that the RTE Act is not applicable to children below six years of age has jeopardised children’s right to education, especially in private schools Virendra Kumar The Delhi High Court delivered a critical judgment on February 19, 2013, holding that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) is not applicable to pre-school (nursery) admissions, inasmuch as children below the age of six years are outside the purview of this Act. The rounded reasoning of the court is that the RTE Act is focused only on the children of the age six to 14, who are destined to receive elementary education; that is, primary education from class I to class VIII.
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DMK blackmail
The
DMK's withdrawal of support may have jolted the UPA but government stability may not be in danger primarily because not many parties are ready for a general election yet. The BJP has ruled out an immediate no-confidence motion. However, the government survival on its fickle allies, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP, will have its own repercussions. Controversial reforms may not happen. Governance may suffer. Tamil Nadu has been on the boil for a week due to student protests demanding an international inquiry into human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The UN has estimated that 40,000 civilians died in five months before the Lankan army's all-out war against the LTTE ended in May 2009 with the killing of rebel leader V. Prabhakaran. Last year the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution asking the Sri Lankan government to implement the recommendations of its own body, the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission. Now again the UN Council's meeting is under way in Geneva and the US, France and Norway have moved a resolution condemning the atrocities in Sri Lanka. DMK leader M. Karunanidhi wanted that India should support a strongly worded UN resolution censuring the "genocide" in Sri Lanka, something the UPA leadership was reluctant to do. He wanted a similar resolution passed by Indian Parliament. There was no way the UPA could give in to DMK pressure. A harder approach means pushing the Rajapaksa government closer to China. New Delhi has ignored human rights abuses in Myanmar and improved trade ties with that country. By similarly engaging with the Lankan government, New Delhi could push for devolution of more powers to Sri Lanka's Tamils. Besides, if New Delhi actively backs the UN resolution on Sri Lanka, fingers could be pointed towards its own track record in Kashmir, Gujarat and the North-East. The UPA could not have allowed itself to be arm-twisted by a coalition partner to follow a particular line in foreign policy that serves a regional interest. The UPA has to work for the over-all national interest, the uncertainty about its own future notwithstanding.
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Coveted honour
Ever
since the National Film Awards came into being in 1954 these have occupied a unique position and are without a doubt considered as the most prestigious acknowledgment of quality cinema in India. Today as a surfeit of cine awards have been instituted by various organizations the relevance of National Film Awards remains, rather has become more significant as the real barometer of quality cinema and creative talent. What is more heartening is that over the years the jury of the awards has kept its mind open to newer sensibilities and refreshing ideas emanating from cinema that includes Bollywood as well. For quite some time now Hindi cinema has been treading a new path, stepping out of the straightjacket of commercial formula. The 60th National Awards are once again an affirmation that Bollywood is moving in the right direction. More recently as mainstream Hindi cinema, pertinently what in common parlance is known as Bollywood ,is finding its place in the coveted list of National Awards, it's amply clear that the lines between commercial success and critical acclaim are fusing fast. Be it this year's winner in the wholesome entertainment category Vicky Donor or in main feature film slot Paan Singh Tomar, clearly the good old divide between alternative cinema and commercial one no longer holds true. New filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Shoojit Sircar and Tigmanshu Dhulia are redefining the rules of Hindi cinema and vowing critics and audiences alike. While the jury of National Awards has been taking notice of the new winds of change in mainstream Hindi cinema, it continues to salute good cinema whatever be the language or region. The fact that the Best Actor Award has been shared by Irrfan Khan for Paan Singh Tomar and Vikram Gokhale for a Marathi film Anumati and that Shivaji Lotan Patil picks up best director trophy for the film Dhag (Marathi) underlines that Hindi cinema alone does not qualify as national cinema. Awards are meant to encourage good cinema and National Film Awards, but for an occasional controversy here and there, have been just the right morale booster for makers who dare to think out of the box. One wishes the same rules applied to India's Oscar nomination too.
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Confessions
Since
time immemorial, confessions have a special place in human existence. The very act of acknowledging guilt - be it in the social sphere, at the legal level or in the realm of religion - has a significance beyond the ordinary. "Confessions in Thirteen Books" was the title of St. Augustine's 397 AD account of his life, perhaps the first autobiographical account published in the western world. The philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, wrote his autobiography, which was published posthumously in 1782 and titled it "The Confessions". Nowadays, the word crops up in various contests, like the title of albums sung by various singers, a concert tour starring Madonna or the current trend, social media pages where people can anonymously post their confessions for the (online) world to see. All over the world, people are pouring their hearts out, airing their grievances, confessing to old crushes, cribbing about their workplace and what have you. The posts are normally anonymous, but as Wittgenstein told us, the meaning is in the context. Who they are referring to can, thus, be fairly obvious; or easy to deduce. Anywhere the state or society places some impediments in communication, or where there are restrictions on movement, the virtual world comes to the rescue of the cyber connected people, who are otherwise stranded in the real world. Social media sites become a powerful medium of communication, and thus provide an escape from real-life constraints. At such times, people are emotional and they seek to connect with others. This is precisely what is happening in Kashmir these days, albeit with a twist, as the popularity of confession pages on various media shows us. What do we see on these confession pages? We stumble through mangled syntax, emotional outpourings about socially unapproved love, gripes with the government and a particular TV anchor, some gyan about the vacuity of materialism... all in all much of what you will find on any other similar confession page. Time for us to remember that geographical entities do not govern people's reactions, at the most they have an impact on them and deep down we all share similarities that transcend time and place.
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Things do not happen. Things are made to happen. — John F. Kennedy
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Defence expenditure
The
ongoing post-Budget debates are on expected lines. As in the past, all essential concerns are on the table excepting, of course, defence. The discourse predictably centres around the adequacy of the amount allocated. No mention is made of the vital issues — value for money and progress on self-reliance. The new budget's allocation of $ 37 billion (Rs 2.03 trillion) amounts to an increase of 14 per cent over the revised estimates of 2012-13. However, when you take into account the annualised inflation rate of around 6 per cent, the actual increase is almost nothing. Recently delivering a lecture in New Delhi, the Finance Minister had spoken about shifting from a compartmentalised to a comprehensive approach to security — encompassing all of its dimensions. With an eye on the Budget, a direct relationship between economic growth and the expense on defence was also highlighted. While no one can argue with the premise, its complexities demand further deliberation. Defence needs to be viewed as an integral part of national planning so as to comprehensively quantify the overall requirement to meet our legitimate security needs and strategic aspirations. A coordinating mechanism must ensure that all the relevant planning and decision-making instruments of the state are in harmony and do not come in the way of either economic growth or defence preparedness. Considering that building defence capabilities takes a long time requiring assured and sustained financial commitment, the yearly pronouncement in the Budget of “allotting more money if required for defence” must be reviewed. The allocations are nullified further by “giving with one hand and taking back by the other” through cuts at revised estimates. Within these parameters, the allocation of 1.79 per cent of the GDP for defence requires more debate. Also, the present allocation constitutes 12.23 per cent of our annual expenditure, and the taxpayers have a right to know the “whys and hows”. India is today one of the world's largest importers of defence equipment. In the next five years, we are likely to spend around $50 billion on imports. It's indigenous purchase ratio is barely 30 per cent. China, so often quoted as our strategic rival, is not only nearly self- reliant, it meets a substantial portion of its defence expenditure through the export of arms and other defence hardware. No wonder its defence spending has risen by 200 per cent in the last decade to reach $119 billion in 2010 (compared to our $36 billion). Indigenisation then can also be the key to prudent fiscal management by offsetting the expense on defence as well. Secondly, the defence procurement procedures, which have been under constant revision, still result in delays due to procedural bottlenecks. Lengthy processes continue to contribute towards cost overruns, technology backlog and even corrupt practices. There is the view that “no-questions-asked- safety” lies in procurement through defence public sector units (DPSUs) and ordnance factories (OFs) alone. This, in fact, has given these undertakings a monopoly status leading to systemic inefficiency, lack of corporate accountability and competition, high costs and outdated technologies. With notable exceptions, these establishments primarily operate as aggregators or assembly units sourcing components from private producers. Hi-tech components are either outsourced or acquired as transfer of technology, leaving behind a static technological base. Progressive corporatisation and joint ventures with the private sector will bring in market-based accountability and competition in quality, price and sales. It could also provide a window to, and a level playing field for, the private sector. While the government has to open the sector for the large Indian commercial base, the corporate sector needs to bring more to the table and go global. Investments in R&D and advanced technology are vital and have long-term spinoffs. Looking at the aggression Indian private companies have shown in other sectors, it is time they make strategic acquisitions in the global defence industry. That said, excessive barriers on foreign bidders will preclude judging the competitiveness of Indian bids, enable cartelisation and increase the costs. Instead, a marginal price preference to domestic suppliers whose import content does not exceed a certain threshold should be examined. Also, technological and volume growth is only possible in global competition. The strategic implications of defence procurements and transfer of critical technologies need the fostering of long-term relationships. In this context, the armaments and equipment inventory has to be viewed through its life cycle with upgrades that go well beyond mere buyer-seller relations. Our dreams of indigenisation and self-reliance will remain stillborn without sovereign decisions. Finally, defence preparedness and growth cannot occur in isolated silos. For example, as of now, projects for ship building and coastal infrastructure pass through nearly a dozen ministries/departments. Likewise, defence exports do not figure in the plans of the Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Foreign Trade. The line between internal and external security having blurred, the structures and processes should have been correspondingly altered. Instead, they continue to exist and grow on separate tracks. On a parallel note, it is worthwhile to factor in that the armed forces and Central police forces both stand at a figure of 1.3 million each. The MoD and MHA must coordinate issues of procurement of armament, infrastructure, training and manpower. The military has nearly 60,000 personnel in the age group of 35-40 retiring every year. They possess a healthy blend of professional skills, relative youth and rich experience, which remains unutilised. No other country in the world is known to indulge in such a waste. It is a pity that despite recommendations by many high-powered committees, their lateral induction into the Central armed police and paramilitary forces has been stymied on some pretext or the other. If implemented, the overall bills of pay and pension of the security forces would be reduced substantially. Add to this the savings on avoidable cost of infrastructure and training. Likewise, a huge portion of weapons and other inventory of military rendered surplus due to constant upgrades can be passed on. This measure will also reduce expense under the revenue head and make more money available for capital acquisitions. The competing demands on the national exchequer of “guns” over “butter” have to be contextualised by striking a judicious balance. There is a need to look at the security-related expenditure in totality. Also, the expenditure on defence should not be treated as an add-on liability, but be an integral part of the national fiscal plan. A bold and realistic drive is necessary to revamp and upgrade the DPSUs and ordnance factories, bring in more FDIs and JVs. It is only then that the huge existing defence infrastructure will shift gear, give us value for money and harness our national industrial
strength.
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‘Let me pack my bag’ “ “It is surprising you are wishing me in person and not over the phone this Sunday”, said elated Tanya. “Actually I thought of giving you a surprise and did not intimate you the preponement of my programme by a day.” “But, dear, you should stay at home at least on Sundays and try to reserve the day for the family and friends. You know 15 years back when we got married, we used to wish each other in person and not over the phone as we do it now”. “Yes, I agree, but now the situation is different.” “What different?” questioned Tanya. “The workload has gone up and so has travelling. The increased competition is driving me to stay more outdoors.” “No, I do not agree to this. It is your own choice.” “How come, honey….” “I warned you that the kind of job switch you are taking will lead to the situation where you are now, and for a homely person like you, it will be difficult.” “But I enjoy travelling and my job, no grudges.” “But at the cost of family life, isn't it !” remarked Tanya. “You see, my boss travels a lot, may be, more than me.” “Could be, but he has grown up children now and his wife also accompanies him most of the times. Whereas we have kids still to be educated and to get settled. It sometimes gets difficult for me to cope up with their requirements, apart from my commitments.” Yeah, I agree, said Rohan. “Anyway, let's not get into all this and plan for a matinee show, a long drive and will dine outside” requested Tanya smilingly. “That'O.K, but we need to be back by 10.30.” “Why so, tomorrow is holiday in school and we can go to bed even by 12 or so.” “Honey, I need to take a late night train to Delhi and then catch an early morning flight to Surat.” “Surat? Last week you were there and again now!” “I have an extremely important meeting there and cannot afford to miss it”, answered Rohan. (There was complete silence for a few moments). “Anyway, I am used to it now, but please be back on Friday as there is a PTA meeting of both children, and at the same time . You need to attend the one.” “Anything else.” “Yes, On Sunday there is a marriage ceremony which we cannot afford to miss.” “………O…….K, I will try my best”, hesitatingly nodded Rohan. “Let me pack my bag before we enjoy Sunday and for now, 'ek cup garam chai ho
jaaye'.”
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Upholding the HRD Ministry’s stand, a recent verdict of the Delhi High Court that the RTE Act is not applicable to children below six years of age has jeopardised children’s right to education, especially in private schools
The
Delhi High Court delivered a critical judgment on February 19, 2013, holding that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) is not applicable to pre-school (nursery) admissions, inasmuch as children below the age of six years are outside the purview of this Act. The rounded reasoning of the court is that the RTE Act is focused only on the children of the age six to 14, who are destined to receive elementary education; that is, primary education from class I to class VIII. The verdict requires serious attention and deliberation since it seems to dilute the guaranteed fundamental right of children to free and compulsory education, and that too at the instance of the HRD Ministry, which is otherwise expected, rather obligated, to provide education to all children up to the age of 14 years in pursuance of the directive contained in Article 45 read with fundamental right under Article 21-A of the Constitution. Start in confusion
Soon after the RTE Act came into operation with effect from April 1, 2010, many queries of procedural import were raised about its implementation. Several recognised unaided private schools specifically sought some clear and categorical guidelines from the government on the procedure to be adopted in the matter of admissions to nursery classes (termed as pre-school education), which prepared children for elementary education. With a view to formulating guidelines for admission, the HRD Ministry, Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, invited various stakeholders to elicit their views. Seemingly, such stakeholders were essentially no others but those who were running nursery wing or pre-school classes along with those for imparting elementary education. After eliciting the views of all interested persons, schools and institutions, and bearing in mind the relevant provisions of the Act, the HRD Ministry issued under Section 35(1) of the said Act guidelines on two counts for admission to class I or nursery. On both counts, the guidelines principally revolve around the provisions of Section 12(1)(c) read with those of Section 13(1) of the Act, which spell out the extent of recognised unaided private and ‘specified category’ schools’ responsibility for providing free and compulsory education to children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. The guidelines The guidelines said schools “shall follow a system of random selection out of the applications received from children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections for filling the pre-determined number of seats in that class, which should not be less than 25 per cent of the strength of the class (for admission to class I or nursery, as the case may be).” Also, for admission to the remaining 75 per cent of the seats, the said schools are free to formulate policy which “should include criteria for categorisation of applicants in terms of the objectives of the school on a rational and reasonable just basis”. However, “[t]here shall be no testing and interviews for any child or parent falling within or outside the categories, and selection would be on a random basis”. Similar are the guidelines issued by the Director, Department of Education, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCT), with a slight elaboration of policy contents on the second count. “Keeping in view the unique background, ethos and objectives of the schools in Delhi,” the private schools are permitted to categorise applicants for admission falling in the 75 per cent slot on the basis of a criteria developed in terms of the objectives of the school that may also include sibling, transfer case, single parent and alumni. Legality of guidelines The guidelines permitting the categorisation of applicants were challenged before the Delhi High Court in two separate writ petitions in public interest, one by Social Jurist, a civil rights group, and another by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Children Rights. The common ground of challenge in both was that the guidelines violated the provisions of Section 13 read with those of Section 2(o) of the RTE Act, which prohibit any method of selection other than random method for admitting a child to nursery or elementary classes. The HRD Ministry and the GNCT, however, defended the guidelines on the plea that the provisions of the RTE Act, including Section 13, do not apply to admissions to the pre-elementary classes by private unaided schools, except as provided by virtue of the proviso appended to Section 12(1)(c) to a limited extent. The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court upheld its contention mainly on the ground that Article 21-A of the Constitution and the RTE Act enacted thereunder specifically “refer the age of the children between six years and 14 years”. This, in the court’s view, implies that the whole scheme of the Act is to essentially provide only full-time elementary education for children between six and 14 years and not pre-school education at nursery level. So far as the provisions of Section 11 of the Act are concerned that require the appropriate government to provide free pre-school education to children, the Bench dispensed the observance of these provisions by holding: “The Section speaks only of necessary arrangements to be made by the appropriate government and it does not speak of free and compulsory education in elementary schools.” Resultantly, the Delhi High Court upheld the guidelines inasmuch as these apply only in respect of 25 per cent of the admissions made to nursery (pre-elementary) classes by the private unaided schools in view of the proviso to Section 12(1) of the RTE Act, and do not apply to the remaining 75 per cent of the admissions made by such schools to such classes. Getting it wrong The stand taken by the Central government and the Delhi Government in their respective guidelines as well as approval of the same by the High Court is based on misreading of the design and provisions of RTE Act in two critical respects. Firstly, the RTE Act has been enacted under the cumulative effect of Article 21-A and Article 45 along with other cognate articles contained in Part IV of the Constitution. It needs to be noticed that the fundamental right to free and compulsory education of all children of the age of six to 14 years under Article 21-A is a continuum of the obligation of the state “to provide childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years” under Article 45 of the Constitution. Accordingly, Parliament specifically enacted and included the provision of Section 11 in the RTE Act with a view “to prepare children of the age of three years for elementary education and to provide earlier childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years,” and through the provision of this Section the legislature has clearly desired the appropriate government to “make necessary arrangement for providing free pre-school education for such children”. In this respect, the notion of free and compulsory elementary education under the Act is inseparably connected with pre-school admissions, and it is this fact of inseparability that prompted the High Court Bench to opine and affirm (notwithstanding their holding on the contrary): “There cannot be any difference [sic] yardstick to be adopted for education to children up to the age of 14 years irrespective of the fact that it applies to only elementary education” else “the provisions of Section 13 would be rendered meaningless insofar as it prohibits screening procedure at the time of selection. Secondly, Section 13(1) of the Act, unlike the special provision of reservation of certain per cent of seats for children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group under Section 12(1)(c) read with its proviso, is of all round application. It mandates: “No school or person shall, while admitting a child, collect any capitation fee and subject the child or his or her parents or guardian to any screening procedure.” The avowed objective of Section 13 is, thus, to make access to a child’s education absolutely non-commercial and non-discriminatory. Its scope cannot be curtailed either by reading the limitation of Section 12(1(c) into the provision of Section 13(1) of the Act, or by resorting to categorisation of children on the basis of discriminatory criteria developed in terms of the objectives of the school, sibling, transfer case, single parent, alumni, etc., as the government’s guidelines seek to do. RTE objective In view of this reasoning, it is averred that the provisions of the RTE Act are equally applicable to admissions in nursery wing of the recognised elementary schools without any further legislative intervention. What is essentially required is the enlightened understanding of the underlying objective of the RTE Act on the part of the Central Government that enables them to issue appropriate guidelines under its Section 35(1) “for the purpose of implementation of the provisions of this Act”. Moreover, under Section 18 of the RTE Act, with effect from April 1, 2010, no school shall be allowed to function without obtaining a certificate of recognition from the prescribed authority of the state. And the Supreme Court has recently laid down by majority in the case of Society for Un-aided Private Schools (2012) that “the fundamental right to establish an educational institution cannot be confused with the right to ask for recognition or affiliation,” and that “the state can regulate by law the activities of the private institutions by imposing reasonable restrictions under Article 19(6).” This implies that if a recognised private school either receives capitation fee or subjects a child to any screening procedure, it shall be liable not only to fine under Section 13, but also to the sanction of de-recognition under Section 19 of the Act.
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Realising its far-reaching implications affecting the whole gamut of a child’s education, on the following day the wary media brought this judgment to the attention of the public (‘RTE Act doesn’t apply to nursery admission: HC’; The Tribune, Feb 20). Immediately thereafter, we read the disturbing news that several private schools in Chandigarh put their admission on hold, citing the Delhi High Court judgment upholding the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s stand that children below six years of age are not covered under the RTE Act.