By Rama Kant Rai:
In 2002, the right to elementary education became a fundamental right as follows: “21A. The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to 14 years in such
By Rama Kant Rai:
In 2002, the right to elementary education became a fundamental right as follows: “21A. The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to 14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.” The enforcement of RTE Act (April 2010) came after sustained popular mobilisation by a wide range of civil society organisations and networks, including teachers’ unions, and the Indian Constitution now provides free and compulsory education for children between the ages of six and 14.
It also aims to bring out-of-school children into the formal education system, and there is a special effort to include children from disadvantaged groups and those with disabilities. While these measures are noteworthy, another potentially controversial measure has also been advanced – support for public private partnerships (PPPs) in the delivery of education.
Here’s a review of our education system as it stands:
The implementation of constitutional amendment and Right to Education Act 2009 is still sluggish and not all the children are in schools. The DISE (District Information on School Education) data is a surprising report, which reveals that the progress of elementary education is dubious and there is something inherently wrong in the enrolment of children. The ‘Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act’ seems a far dream for all the children of this country.
Based on the 2011 Census figures, there were 233,583,108 children from age 6 to 14 in India. However, from the total enrolment figures for 2011-2012, only 199,055,138 students were enrolled in schools (this includes enrolment in unrecognised schools and madrasas). This means that over 34.5 million children covered by the RTE Act were not enrolled in school.
From the DISE data 2013-14, it is evident that the enrolment in elementary schools (1 to 8) during 2013-14 decreased. During the year 2012-13 there were 134,784,272 children studying in primary classes (1 to 5) which reduced to 132,428440 children during 2013-14. Thus 2355832 children got reduced at lower primary level. Similarly at upper primary level (grade 6 to 8) there were 64926077 children during 2012-13 which increased to 66471219 during 2013-14. Hence the total number of students in elementary schools reduced from 199710349 (2012-13) to 198899659 during 2013-14. Thus the total number of students declined is 810690 during the academic year 2013-14. This is a substantial number.
Despite the fact that RTE Act makes certain norms and standards to be followed by private schools in terms of infrastructure, teachers and school governance, it is hardly being followed and private schools are increasing in numbers. Also government schools have vacant positions of teachers, poor governance and deployment of teachers in non-teaching activities. This has resulted in govt. schools being less attractive to parents, and a rush to enrol in private schools.
|Private Schools (Figures in millions)|
|Year||Primary (1 to 5)||Upper Primary (6 to 8)||Total Elementary PVT (1 to 8)|
The DISE data (Flash Statistics 2013-14) shows the number of unrecognised schools. The number of unrecognised schools is increasing despite the provision of enforcement of RTE Act 2009, which bans the unrecognised schools. As a matter of fact, unrecognised schools have not been served any notice to become adherent to RTE norms.
|Enrolment in Unrecognised (Figure in millions)|
|Year||Primary (1-5)||Upper Primary(6-8)|
The Ministry of Human Resource development issued a concept note for launching privatisation of education in the name of so called “Public Private Partnership (PPP)”. The Government is convinced that there is an urgent need for replacement of bureaucratic controls in education by professional regulations along with private-public partnership to ensure universal elementary education. Competition in tertiary and secondary education is also equally essential.
Under the move of PPP, the Government of India has made clear its intention to engage the private sector in education. It mentions: “In the Twelfth Five Year Plan, possibilities will have to be