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Dream, Dream,
Dream
Dream transforms
into thoughts
And thoughts
result in action.
This led to serious debates with my friends and family
and most of the people agreed that it all starts with the Education.
Education here means the not only the process of
facilitating learning, it actually means
the process of providing knowledge, skills, and values in an affordable way
with high quality.
But the real truth and the lingering question in
everybody’s mind is, is Education affordable
and available to all walks of the society? Is the affordable education provided
with good quality?
I learned the truth in a hard way when I couldn’t
get the Pre-kg admission for my child in one of Chennai’s desired school, which
advertises to offer good quality of education, where parents throng in line to
get their wards admitted and ready to give anything to secure the future of
their child.
The emotional
scare, the educational system leaves in the minds of the parents is
tremendous and the social-economic pressure it puts on their shoulders is very
high, as not all can pay hefty donations to secure admission.
This led me to the topic ‘The Right to education’, with the head
start from my wife.
But why Education is needed in the
first place?
Education is so important because as Nelson Mandela says, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Education gives the knowledge about the world and required wisdom to lead a better life, helps to develop a perspective of life around us, builds values and morals, to reduce gender inequality and to reduce poverty in the world.
By education I
mean
an all-round drawing
of the best in
child
and man in body,
mind and spirit,
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Education is so vital that it helps me write this blog post on the ‘The
Right to education’.
What is the responsibility of
government? What is the responsibility of
public and private schools?
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002
inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and
compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years
as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which
represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means
that every child has a right to full-time elementary education of satisfactory
and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential
norms and standards.
The RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The
title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’.
‘Free
education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his
or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate
Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which
may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the
appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission,
attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14
age groups. With this, India has moved forward to a rights-based framework that
casts a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this
fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in
accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act. Source
The Act has the following key provisions,
- Every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years has the right to free and compulsory education in a nearby school, till completion of elementary education.
- No child is liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may stop him or her from pursuing and finishing elementary education.
- If a child above six years of age didn’t get admitted to any school or could not complete his or her elementary education, then, he or she should get admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age.
- For carrying out the provisions of this Act, the government and local authority should establish a school, if it is not established, within the given area, within a period of three years, from the commencement of this Act.
- The Central and the State Governments have the responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
- It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition.
- It lays down the rules and standards relating to Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours.
- It requires all private schools (except the minority institutions) to reserve 25% of seats for the poor and other categories of children.
- Children must be given admission in a school even if they don’t have documents like transfer certificate and age proof.
Children
from ‘disadvantaged groups’ and ‘weaker sections’ can get free education
in a private school. These terms are explained below.
- Every private school has to keep 25% of its seats in class 1 for children from ‘disadvantaged groups’ and ‘weaker sections’.
- The school has to give free education to these children till class 8.
But the sad truth is most of the private schools shun this moral responsibility by citing the false distance figures or taking advantage of the illiterate parents.
The recent experience I had today further amplified
my thought that this article will be an eye-opener for many, as the car driver
told me that the private school he tried to get his son admitted in nearby
local school rejected his application by stating that ‘he didn’t provide the
required documents in time’
He said to
me that ‘he will get his son admitted to the school next year’ as he doesn’t
have the required Twenty Thousand rupees which saddened me to the core.
The renowned educationist Anil Sadagopal states that,
The act is a fraud on our children. It gives
neither free education nor compulsory education. In fact, it only legitimizes the present multi-layered, inferior quality school education system where
discrimination shall continue to prevail.
I request everyone reading this article to share
this information with your neighbours, at least educate the illiterate parents
about the act provisions in a simple and understandable manner to help them in
a small way.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
education act can be viewed here.
Let’s spread this awareness and make the vision of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam true.
WE SHOULD NOT
GIVE UP AND
WE SHOULD NOT
ALLOW THE
PROBLEM TO
DEFEAT US.
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Virtually
nothing is impossible
in this world if
you just put your mind to it
and maintain a
positive attitude.
~ Lou Holtz
Be crazy enough to ignite, innovate and transform this world...Breath Success
Happy Dreaming...
