28 th may, 2010 s chool e ducation in i ndia c entre f or c ivil s ociety
TRANSCRIPT
SCHOOL EDUCATION IN INDIA
CENTRE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
I: Background
INDIAINDIASome Basic Facts
• Area:
• Population (2001):
• Literacy (2001):
3.2 million sq kms
1.03 billion (16% of world’s population).
64.8 percent
Male : 75.03
Female : 53.07
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
Constitutional Democratic Republic Free and fair elections at regular intervals for
Central and State legislatures and local bodies
Constitutionally guaranteed Fundamental Rights, including Freedom of the Press
Central and State Governments have Constitutionally defined jurisdictions
Education, a Concurrent responsibility
STATES & LANGUAGES
Administrative Setup— Union of 28 States
and 7 Union Territories
Districts 600 Rural Habitations 1.23 million Constitutionally
recognised languages 22
DIVERSITY OF CANVAS
Vast developmental disparities between States and within States
Kerala close to China and Sri Lanka in developmental indices; Bihar, UP closer to Nepal and Bhutan
In general, southern and western States better developed
Efficient implementation of educational plans related to status of development
CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION
According to latest estimates, some 3.5 million elementary school children still not in school
Wide disparities in the educational status of different regions
Out of school children are from socially marginalised groups, especially girls, working children, children of very poor families, and children in difficult circumstances
Drop out rates at elementary level as high as 51 percent; rising to 62 percent at secondary level
47 percent children in Class 5 are unable to read a Class 2 text
II: The Policy Framework
POLICY FRAMEWORK
Constitution of India: Directive Principles National Policy on Education (1986), as revised in
1992 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992)
transferring subjects, including education, to rural and urban local bodies
86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) making free and compulsory elementary education a Fundamental Right
Greater focus on EFA, post Jomtien, resulting in higher allocation of resources
EFA National Plan of Action drawn up in 2003
III: Judicial and Other Developments
THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT JUDICIAL INTERVENTION
Mohini Jain vs State of Karnataka, SC, 1992
Right to education concomitant to Fundamental Rights
Every citizen has a right to education under the Constitution
The act of recognition of private institutions in itself creates an instrument of State that can be used to deliver the obligations of the State
THE SECOND SIGNIFICANT JUDICIAL INTERVENTION
J P Unnikrishnan vs State of Andhra Pradesh, SC 1993 Reviewed the decisions in Mohini Jain vs
State of Karnataka
Held that the right to education is implicit and flows from the right to life guaranteed under Art 21
Every child has a right to free education until he completes the age of 14 years; thereafter his right is circumscribed by the economic capacity of the State
THE 1990S
A period of liberalisation and globalisation
Adoption of New Economic Policy
Borrowing from IMF and World Bank coupled with a Structural Adjustment Programme
Implicit withdrawal from the social sector, with a greater role for private entities
International compulsions
EFA, Jomtien 1990
Ratification of UN CRC, 1992
Obligation to report on progress from time to time
Acceptance, for the first time ever, of external assistance in education for DPEP and others
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
Number of very active NGOs around this time Pratham
MV Foundation
Global Campaign for Education (international)
NAFRE
Private sector initiatives (CSR related) Ambani-Birla Report on Education Reform
Elementary education must entirely be a State responsibility
Other Public Interest Litigations 165th report of the Law Commission
IV: Programmes and Initiatives
INDIAN AGENCIES IN EDUCATION
ECCE & Gender Equality – Ministry of Women &
Child Development
Elementary Education Dept of School
Education
Adult Education & Literacy
Youth and Adolescents – Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs
SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ECCE
Main vehicle Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS), covering 54 million children in the 0-6 year age group
Provides a mix of 6 services: supplementary nutrition, immunisation, health check up, referral services, pre school education and nutrition and health education
USD 2 billion allocated in Budget 2009-10
SCHOOL INITIATIVES: DPEP
Preceded by the Bihar Education Project (UNICEF), Lok Jumbish (SIDA), Shiksha Karmi Project (SIDA), UP Basic Education Project
Launched in 1994 to universalise access and retention, to improve learning achievements and to reduce social gaps
District-based, with a focus on community involvement, combined with institutional capacity improvement
At its peak, in 273 districts in 18 States Among other achievements (infrastructure, etc),
succeeded in raising awareness about the importance of education
SCHOOL INITIATIVES: SSA
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), national flagship programme for UEE, launched in 2001
Covers 210 million children, 1 million schools and nearly 4 million teachers
Annual expenditure on the programme approximately USD 3.5 billion; overall expenditure on elementary education USD 25 billion
180,000 new school buildings, 700,000 additional classrooms, 230,000 new toilets and 170,000 drinking water facilities provided so far
SSA GOALS
All children in school by 2005
Bridging gender and social gaps:
Primary 2007
Elementary 2010
Universal retention by 2010
Focus on satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life
SCHOOL INITIATIVES: MDM
Launched in 1995 to provide a meal to all primary school children
World’s largest school feeding programme, covering 112 million children in 950,000 schools
Has resulted in improving retention, reducing drop out rates and improving nutritional status of children
2009-10 budget outlay USD 2 billion
SCHOOL INITIATIVES: SECONDARY EDUCATION
93 million children estimated to be in the 14-18 year age group
Only 33 million enrolled in secondary institutions
Two thirds out of school
Current spending on secondary education USD 1 billion per annum
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, a programme for universalising access to secondary education launched in 2008
PROGRAMMES FOR GIRLS
Special schemes targeted at girls, apart from focus on girls in general schemes Kasturba Gandhi Ballika Vidyalaya (KGBV) National Programme for the Education of Girls at the
Elementary Level (NPEGEL) Mahila Samakhya
Removal of gender (and other) disparities at the primary levels (I-V) by 2007, and elementary (I-VIII) level by 2010
Comprehensive plan for adolescents, especially girls, in the Tenth Five Year Plan
According to UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report 2006, India achieved gender parity at elementary level in 2005
YOUTH AND ADOLESCENTS
Population – approx 230 million (22.8% of total) Development of this group falls under the purview of several Ministries Comprehensive National Youth Policy adopted in 2003 Life skill education among adolescents supported by WHO and UNFPA,
especially for girls Approximately 8 million rural youth covered through Nehru Yuva Kendra
Sangathan (NYKS) for social development, including the Red Ribbon Express Initiative for HIV/AIDS awareness
National Service Scheme also targets youth in colleges and schools for constructive social programmes
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) provides opportunities of Distance Education to those who are unable to continue with formal education
ADULT EDUCATION
National Literacy Mission to provide functional literacy to all adults To achieve sustainable threshold literacy (75%) by 2007 597 districts covered under AE programmes; 485 under PLP and 328
under CE Recently recast as Saakshar Bharat to focus on adults above 15
years, with a special focus on female literacy Vocational education and skill development through 157 Jan
Shikshan Sansthans Absolute number of illiterates declined by 25 million between 1991-
2001 Gender gap reduced from 24.9% in 1991 to 21.6% in 2001
NEW INITIATIVES
Education Cess @ 2% imposed on all Central taxes to augment resources for EFA
Estimated yield in 2009-10: US $ 4 billion
Increased to 3% with effect from 2006 to provide for secondary education
Legislation detailing elementary education as a Fundamental Right recently notified
ICDS universalised to cover all habitations
Mid-day Meal scheme expanded to cover upper primary classes
Scheme for universal access to secondary education being launched
V: The Right to Education
THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Superior or supreme law of the land, reflecting the relationship of the State with its citizens
Includes Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy
Fundamental Rights are enforceable, justiciable Directive Principles non-binding, but meant to
guide the State Together known as the “conscience of the
Constitution” (K C Wheare, Modern Constitutions)
WHY A RIGHT TO EDUCATION?
Right to Education linked to a fundamental debate at the time of writing the Constitution
Related to governance itself, whether to include universal adult franchise or not Opponents argued that providing a right to vote to all, when
most were illiterate, would negate democracy
Art 45 introduced as a compromise “The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten
years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years” (emphasis added)
Only Directive Principle with a time frame, indicating that our leaders were not prepared to give more than ten years to establish democracy on the bedrock of universal education
HOWEVER…
The time frame of ten years was never respected
Government and the bureaucracy concluded that adequate financial resources were not available
Number of illiterates in the country rose from 294.2 million in 1951, to 325.5 million in 1961
THE CONSTITUTION (86TH AMENDMENT) ACT, 2002
Adds a new Fundamental Right (“Right to Education”) by inserting Article 21A:“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.”
Changes Article 45 (in the Directive Principles) to:“The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.”
Adds the following (eleventh) Fundamental Duty in Article 51A:(It shall be the duty of every citizen of India…)
“(k) who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.”
BASIC CONCEPTS
“Compulsory Education” defined as the obligation of the State to take all necessary steps to ensure that every child participates in, and completes Elementary Education
“Free Education” defined as freedom from liability to (i) pay any fee to the school, and (ii) incur such other prescribed expenses as may be likely to prevent the child from participating in and completing Elementary Education
CHILD’S RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Spelt out as “right to free and compulsory education of equitable quality” – in turn, elaborated as the right to participate in full-time free and compulsory elementary education in a neighbourhood school, which fulfils prescribed norms regarding infrastructure, staffing,curriculum, etc
Suitable provisions for non-enrolled children to enable them to join age appropriate grades
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE
Responsibilities at various levels (Centre, State, local authority) spelt out
State to make available a neighbourhood school, which fulfils prescribed norms, for every child within three years
Regular monitoring and taking all necessary steps including removal of all barriers (social, economic, academic, physical, etc), so that every child completes Elementary Education
Thank you
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