Nationwide protest against scrapping of India’s education bill

Angered by the Indian government’s recent decision to do away with the Right to Education Bill, which was to operationalise the four-year-old Fundamental Right to Education, child rights activists and educationists are set to launch a people’s campaign for a common school system. They hope that the government, under public pressure, will put this issue on the political agenda and enact a central law to enable this fundamental right. Activists will also hold a nationwide protest against what they say is the state’s betrayal of the interests of millions of Indian children, on the eve of India’s 59th Independence Day on August 15. Karan Tyagi, chief of the National Alliance for Right to Education and Equity (NAFRE), a coalition of CSOs working for the cause of universal education in India, said they would organise a ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ on August 14. “Thousands of our volunteers across the country are going to court arrest on August 14. The protest will be organised in 200 districts, state capitals and in New Delhi,” Tyagi said, adding that the government could not betray the masses to “appease a few influential groups”. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on July 20, Professor Anil Sadgopal, member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) that formulated the draft of the Right to Education Bill said: “The government has betrayed the people by retreating from its constitutional obligation towards a critical fundamental right such as elementary education.” The central government formulated the landmark legislation in 2005, making elementary education free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14. Speaking at a press conference organised by NAFRE, Vinod Raina, another CABE member said: “The government has betrayed the masses on the education bill. The 86th constitutional amendment made right to education part of Article 21 but the government, after the draft was formulated, has decided to shelve it.” “Article 21A made the Centre duty-bound to provide entirely free education to every child, for which they have to make legislation in Parliament.” But “both the National Democratic Alliance and the United Progressive Alliance governments dithered on enacting the Right to Education Bill for nearly four years after the constitutional amendment, spuriously claiming lack of funds,” said Sadgopal. According to Raina, the current expenditure on primary education is nearly Rs 460 billion; if the government enacted the law it would have to allocate Rs 360 billion extra towards it. “It seems that the government is not ready to invest much on universal education, and there is a neo-liberal attitude among authorities including the Planning Commission… In its Common Minimum Programme, the present government had promised to increase expenditure on education to 6% of GDP. But contrary to the promise, the government is deflecting the responsibility of enabling this right onto the various Indian states.” The government has circulated a Model Right to Education Bill 2006, asking state governments to enact their own laws conforming to its broad parameters. According to former foreign secretary, Muchkund Dubey, as bait the states were told that if they enacted the law the Centre would continue with the Tenth Plan (2002-2007) pattern of funding for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Campaign), under which they have to foot only 25% of the Bill. The original scheme envisaged a 50:50 sharing of expenses under the Tenth Plan. Raina alleges that this is the result of pressure from some politicians and “market forces” that are opposed to certain provisions of the Bill. “The Bill proposes to stop the contractual appointment of teachers in schools. It also proposes 25% reservation for poor students in schools. These provisions are not going down well with some organisations and politicians who have influence with the government.” Raina said the draft Bill had been forwarded by the prime minister to a group of ministers, but the report was never made public. “Even CABE members were not shown the report.” Source: Info Change More

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