Education and Social Equity

By April 1, 2011 only six states and seven Union Territories notified the Act and made rules that too in the last quarter of the year. The law designated National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as monitoring agency, but it lacks any power to do justice. There is a shortage of teachers in our country, especially in Tamilnadu which has not been looked upon yet.

Provision of free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years is a Directive Principle of State policy of the Constitution. Among the international conventions, the Child Rights Convention of 1989 emphasizes the right to education as a basic requirement to protect the childhood and prevent the economic exploitation of the children.

Awareness about the Act continues to be extremely low, especially at the levels below the State capitals. What we see is that people are hardly aware and besides that teachers and head teachers have only rudimentary information. The Centre has decided to display the main provisions of the law on the walls of the government buildings so as to create awareness among the people.

Things to be listed on the wall will include the basic entitlements for children under the Right to Education Act. But if a state government does not show interest on such a priority issue, nothing is going to change.

 There should be proper surveys through the questionnaires so that we can have an idea that how many children in the prescribed age group do not go to school. There are some 8.1 million such children, according to the HRD ministry, but it is hopeful that a fresh drive might throw up a bigger number.

There is a shortage of teachers in many districts in our country and which have not been filled up due to lack of resources. There are some states in which the qualified teachers constitute 50% and the rest are not qualified to the extent of becoming teachers. In order to get rid of archaic practices like corporal punishment, urgent attention must be given to school based training for teachers.

Qualified teachers should be appointed at government schools and that the governing bodies of government schools be monitored by committees consisting of local body members and parents rather than by bureaucrats.

Possibly, the governmental and political system at the state had several other things to focus on in the past five years and hence they did not bother to look at RTE, such a high priority issue which will decide the fate of the state in the upcoming decades.

It will definitely be an utmost priority in the upcoming new government and only visionary, futuristic leader Jayalalithaa can drive such an initiative with commitment and ease, to achieve the states best next generation!