Education

โ€œRight to Education (RTE) billโ€ - India : A last minute appeal to Members of Parliament, media and friends for the deferment of the enactment of the Right to Education Bill!

The โ€œRight to Education (RTE) billโ€ will be discussed and possibly passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday (Aug 3rd, 2009). The Bill in the present form suffers from major anomalies which must be given due consideration, before its enactment.

A last minute appeal to Members ofParliament, media andfriends forthedeferment ofthe enactment of the Right to Education Bill!

It is time to Act! A last minute appeal to Members of Parliament, media and friends for the deferment of the enactment of the Right to Education Bill!

But WHY??

  1. The Bill perpetuates a discriminatory and non-inclusive system in which the quality of education is dependent on the social classes to which the school caters.
  2. The RTE Bill does little to set quality standards.
  3. The Bill excludes children below six years of age from its provisions.
  4. Children with disabilities: The Bill says children with โ€˜severe or profound disability, (who) cannot be provided elementary education in a neighbourhood school, shall have the right to be provided education in an appropriate alternative environment as may be prescribed.โ€™ This is against the principle of โ€˜inclusionโ€™ and does not put the onus on the education system to meet individual needs of children. Whereas, the Bill has detailed the norms required of a school (teacher-pupil ratio, buildings etc), it is silent on the facilities needed to enable children with disabilities to attend school (such as ramps, Braille readers, etc).
  5. In this Bill, โ€˜disabilityโ€™ has the meaning assigned by the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, which does not include such other disabilities as defined by the National Trust Act, 1999 (autism and cerebral palsy).
  6. Child Labour: Though the Bill prohibits any person from preventing a child from participating in elementary education, it does not adequately address the issue of child labour.

Disability Rights groups in New Delhi, Kolkata and in other places are organizing public rallies on 3rd Aug 2009 to highlight the flaws and lacunae in the RTE bill.

The following are some recent articles that provide a detailed analysis of the anomalies with the Right to Education Bill.

The wrongs in the Right to Education Bill

(The writer is director, policy & technical support, Save the Children, India)

The ministerโ€™s promise to also enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, which seeks to make education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years, however, needs deep consideration. In its present avatar the Bill suffers from major anomalies which must be given due consideration, before its enactment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-wrongs-in-the-Right-to-Education-Bill/articleshow/4742600.cms

Educationists express concern over Right to Education Bill

The Right to Education Bill, passed this week by the Rajya Sabha, stops short of providing a common schooling system and discriminates between students in government schools and private unaided schools, say educationists

http://infochangeindia.org/200907247841/Education/News/Educationists-express-concern-over-Right-to-Education-Bill.html

Latha Jishnu: The right to cut-rate education

Latha Jishnu / New Delhi August 1, 2009, 0:58 IST

The right is limited to some children for some kind of schooling with no guarantee of universal access or quality education for all.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/latha-jishnuright-to-cut-rate-education/365546/

Will education Bill guarantee equality?

Bill does not focus on learning outcomes

The Right to Education (RTE) Bill is schizophrenic in addressing the issue of equality. The reservation of 25% seats for weaker sections in all private schools improves equity of access and offers a choice of school to poor parents. It is basically a voucher scheme where the government would pay for the educational expenses of 25% students in private schools. On the other hand, the infrastructure requirements including a playground would make all budget private schools illegal.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/ET-Debate/Will-education-Bill-guarantee-equality/articleshow/4813495.cms?curpg=1

Physically-disabled demanded provision in education bill

NEW DELHI - Hundreds of physically-disabled people staged a demonstration here, demanding provision for the differently abled in the new education bill. Right to Education bill was presented in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (July 30).

Activists of the Disabled Rights Group, the NGO which mobilized the march, said the attitude of the Human Resource Development and Education Minister Kapil Sibal was indifferent.

http://blog.taragana.com/n/physically-disabled-demanded-provision-in-education-bill-127490/

Rights groups cry foul over education Bill

KOLKATA: The Right to Education Bill tabled in Parliament could deny 400 million children in India the right to study, NGOs and social rights groupshave pointed out. By encouraging private investment in education, the Bill threatens to rob the poorer sections of the chance to go to school, it has been claimed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Kolkata-/Rights-groups-cry-foul-over-education-Bill/articleshow/4832107.cms

Amend education Bill

The right to education is meaningless if it merely means the right of children to join a government school where little teaching takes place, and emerge functionally illiterate. Unfortunately the Right to Education Bill just passed by the Rajya Sabha focuses only on access to government schools, not the outcome after such access.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Amend-education-Bill/articleshow/4823429.cms

All about the Right to Education Bill

The CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) committee drafted the 'Right to Education' Bill and submitted to the Ministry of HRD.

http://www.ilpnet.org/rte/

Studentsโ€™ body protests against โ€˜flawedโ€™ Right to Education Bill

Days after the Right to Education (RTE) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the All India Studentsโ€™ Association (AISA) held a protest today. Many students and teachers from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia took part.

Anil Sadgopal, noted educationist, said: โ€œThe Bill proposes 25 per cent seat reservation for poor students in private schools. This quota will be filled by providing vouchers to such students, but these vouchers will only amount to the fees paid for admission in a government school.โ€

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/students-body-protests-against-flawed-right-to-education-bill/492815/

Source : C. Mahesh, Advocacy Coordinator CBR Forum

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When: 7/2/2014

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