Right to Education Bill and the Vision of Quality Common Schools

The 86th Constitution Amendment Act, 2002 added Article 21A to the Constitution of India, stating, "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine."

The Right to Education Bill 2005 seeks to give effect to this Amendment and states that the state shall provide a school confirming to certain minimum standards in every child’s neighbourhood.

The objective of this Bill is clearly to ensure that every child between the age of 6 and 14 years has the right to Elementary Education that is (a) free, (b) compulsory, (c) of equitable quality, and (d) available in her neighbourhood. This Bill states that education will be available between Grade I and VIII provided at a recognized school satisfying specified norms.

According to UNICEF-sponsored workshop held sometime ago, the Bill implies that there will be no non-formal schools beyond a limited period and teachers will have to possess qualifications as defined in the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993. The emphasis upon the neighbourhood school indicates that the system is moving towards a common school system of accepted quality.

The workshop participants were of the view, in the interim period, the following two things need to be done.

 Non-enrolled children of age group 7-9 years have the right to be admitted in an age-appropriate grade within one year of the commencement of the Act, and children of age group 9-14 years have the right to be provided special programmes that will enable them to attend such grade within three years.

 A child who is unable to participate in elementary education shall have the right to be provided with suitable conditions as may be decided by the appropriate government to enable her participation. The bill mentions the need to provide for the education of children of migrant families through bridge course, remedial teaching and other such interventions. The Bill envisions that all children will be in regular formal schools within three years from the commencement of the Act.

Though the bill has been enacted, there is a need for system accountability to mainstream the backlog of out-of school children. The workshop expressed the view the it is an immediate necessity to make the Alternate and Innovate Education/Alternate Learning Systems operational in with proper standards and norms to universalize the promised universal quality education.