The Lost Chapter

No funds, says Centre. The Right to Education Bill goes cold.

ANURADHA RAMAN
One would have thought there would be no opposition to a Bill which will operationalise the fundamental right of a child to education. Far from it, the Right to Education (RTE) Bill has been getting tossed around for the last three years. Last fortnight, the Union cabinet met in the absence of an ailing human resources development minister, Arjun Singh, and referred it once again to a Group of Ministers (GoM) which will once again go through the bill with a fine-tooth comb. This exercise essentially means another delay.

Very clearly, the Manmohan Singh government, so focused on the N-deal and caught up with domestic concerns like the Jammu and Kashmir imbroglio, is showing no urgency vis-a-vis the RTE bill. As one minister who attended last fortnight's cabinet meeting put it, "We were very busy with the J&K situation and so we just didn't get the time to discuss the education bill." It's certainly not a priority with this government.

Further, Outlook has learnt from sources that the prime minister has his reservations about the bill. A group of educationists who met Manmohan Singh last year were told that funding the RTE would be a huge problem. One of them told Outlook that "the PM clearly pointed out the inability of the Centre to fund the RTE and (said) that some of the states were rich enough to implement it".

Inked out: HRD minister Arjun Singh

This is a view echoed by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia too (see interview). This, despite the commission approving the bill last year. (It is learnt the majority view—in support of the bill—had prevailed then despite Montek's objections.) But his latest objection is that the bill's prime mover, the Union HRD ministry, has not weighed the financial implications of the state guaranteeing education to children in the age group 6-14.

Of course, there are financial costs involved. Estimates drawn up by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) has it that an additional Rs 77,223 crore will be required in the 12th plan for the RTE to take off (about Rs 7,000 crore per annum or 0.15 percent of the GDP). Already, the 11th Plan allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is projected at Rs 70,000-80,000 crore. The RTE is targeted at the 20 crore kids in the 6-14 age group.

But looking beyond all this are a group of concerned academics and lawyers who say precious time is being wasted debating the financial implications. Says educationist Anita Rampal: "A central legislation is essential to lay down uniform norms for quality and standards of elementary education. This should be irrespective of a state's economic capacity and also to ensure conformity with constitutional values."

Noted educationist Anil Sadgopal says systematic attempts have been made to dilute the provisions of the bill ever since it was put to debate. He goes so far as to suggest that the bill is reflective of the neo-liberal policies of the state, as evident in the committee set up under Kapil Sibal when the minister requested that private schools be kept out of the bill's ambit. "What is the meaning of equitable education then?" asks Sadgopal.

According to him, the high-level group constituted by the PM concluded at its meeting that the Centre lacked funds and that the RTE should primarily be a state responsibility. Says Sadgopal: "It's not lack of resources but a government framework leaning towards neo-liberal policies like private-public partnership in model schools, stratifying the education system which keeps large chunks of children out etc that is responsible for the mess our education system is in."

It was in 1993 that the SC gave the historic Unnikrishnan judgement which gave all children up to 14 years the fundamental right to education.The court said the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution should be read along with the directive in Article 45 to provide free and compulsory education to children of 0-14 years.

Successive governments tried their best to obfuscate issues till the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act in 2002. This limited the state's responsibility to looking after children in the 6-14 age group. While the bill piloted by the nda government had glaring loopholes, it was assumed that when the upa took charge, education would be given its due. This would have meant every child below 14 was assured education in state-run schools. Not just that, private schools would ensure that 25 per cent of the seats were reserved for children from the weaker sections.

But not much has been done. While several private schools are not for reservation at all, even government schools are guilty. Delhi-based advocate and social activist Ashok Aggarwal gets at least half a dozen cases a day from children denied admission to government schools. He is hopeful the RTE will empower parents to fight the legal battles.

So what now? Science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, who presided over the previous GoM, will be taking another "hard look" at the bill. According to him, "We have to see what are the parameters that will be looked into by the courts, if it is challenged in the future." But isn't that exactly what the first GoM had deliberated upon?