Proceedings of the Puraskara Bangalore Workshop

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Pictures from the Puraskara Bangalore Workshop

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REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

 

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

25^TH & 26^TH AUGUST 2006

In 2002 the 86^th amendment to the Constitution of India was passed making education a fundamental right under article 21(A) of the Constitution which stated free and compulsory education for all children in the age group of 6-14yrs. Even after four years the government has not found the time to ensure an Act as mandated by the Constitution.

With the coming to the office of the UPA government and setting up of the CABE committee to draft the Bill on Free and Compulsory Education consequent to the passing of the amendment it began to trigger a new hope and aspiration. However, the draft bill continued to gather dust in the Prime Ministers Office for more than 10 months without being introduced in the forthcoming parliament session. It has now come to light that the Central Government has decided to shelve the bill and has, instead, formulated a Model Bill which has been sent to all the State Governments for them to enact the law. In its letter to the State Governments it has also issued a conditionality that SSA grants would be cut by 50% should the states not introduce the Model Bill in their assemblies?

What can the rationale of such a let down be? On what grounds has the Central government developed this attitude to ignore childrens right to education? Are the 250 million children in the 6-14 years age group and all the 160 million children up to 6 years of age not the governments responsibility? Do they belong to the State Governments alone? Where is the guarantee that the State Governments will not pass the buck to the districts, then the blocks, villages and finally the families and poor parents themselves while framing such an Act?

It is a shame that the country, despite boasting of its 8% GDP and economic growth, does not want to share its resources with its children and their right to go to school. Indeed the Preamble of Indias Constitution resolves that WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to Constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, _expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all; FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation.These objectives can be achieved only if the countrys children are not in work and are attending schools. It is only in the security of its children lies the confidence of the polity and the democratic regime.

Against the backdrop of this, a national meet on Abolition of Child Labour and Right to Education was organized by M.V.Foundation and Social Jurist on the 25^th & 26^th of August 2006 at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. It was held to bring pressure on the parliamentarians to rise above self-imposed constraints and ensure that every child in this nation enjoyed her right to education. The main aim of this meet was to demand a total abolition of child labour in all its forms and ensure the passing of the Right to Education Bill by the Parliament without any further delay.

Mr. Ashok Agarwal of Social Jurist while welcoming the participants from 20 states hoped that a concrete plan of action would be formulated towards abolishing child labour in all its forms and demanding the government to pass the Education bill at the end of the two day deliberations. In order to set the tone for the discussion that would take place during the course of the day, he further added that, Today we all know what the situation of child labour is in our country and commented that the government is supposed to look after its citizens and what has it done for its children?. He stated how the governance system of our country has encouraged the survival of certain people who continue to exploit children engaging them as child labour. The existing Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 itself, as it exists, is in contravention of Article 21(A) of the Constitution. As we can see that instead of abolishing child labour completely, government has resorted to measures like non formal education system with lack of proper infrastructure systems with themselves becoming breeding centres for child labour.

He said that the recent notification that banned child labour in domestic work and in hotels and dhabas was a good step, but a piecemeal solution which would not help in abolishing child labour completely as there was a risk of the child who was withdrawn from sectors that have been prohibited to move to another area of work which has not been not prohibited. Given these circumstances he mentioned that there must be a demand to bring about a law to abolish child labour totally and ensure that it is implemented effectively by the government. Only then would the goal of right to education would be realizable.

With this note Mr. Agarwal welcomed the Chief Guest Prof. Yashpal, Former Chairman of University Grants Commission, and called upon Mr. Muchkund Dubey to chair the first session.

The speakers for the Inaugural Session were as follows:

Mr. Bacchu Kaddo, MLA, Maharastra

Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director, NCERT

Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Co-Chairman, PCCSS

Dr. S.C. Vats, MLA, Delhi

Prof. Shantha Sinha, MV Foundation

Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum

Swami Agnivesh

Dr.R. Govinda, NIEPA

Mr. Muchkund Dubey introduced the session and welcomed the speakers. He opined on the fact that if Right to Education is our fundamental right then how can child labour exist? He felt that the present scenario throws light on a government that is very weak and fragmented which lets issues like child labour and illiteracy perpetuate and breed in our country. Expressing his unhappiness with the model bill, he put forth the question, Despite a Constitutional mandate why is the government not doing anything to implement the Right to Education Bill? and further stated that, when the SSA was implemented the government assured that we will have a law in place but the government has stepped back now by withdrawing the Right to Education bill in the Parliament. From 2002, when Right to Education became a fundamental right up to 2004 nothing happened. Even in 2004 when we insisted on a Bill the government kept evading it and finally on 9^th of January 2006 the Bill was withdrawn. Now the Central government has abdicated its responsibility by passing the issue to the State Governments. A model bill has been drafted and sent to them which is a Ghatia bill and a totally diluted version. For example as of now the justiciablity of the bill depends on decisions of government officials as it has no provisions to bind the State for not implementing the law..

He further highlighted the fact that in the model bill child labour has been isolated from education and there is no mention of child labour at all. He stated that the model bill which was drafted without anyones consultation is full of loopholes and a joke. This in turn is a betrayal he said and concluded by stating Rajshashan sahi rajshashan nahi hai.

Mr. Bacchu Kaddo, MLA, Maharastra, stated that if different models are implemented in different states then a lot of problems will arise and we should raise our voice in the Vidhan Sabha against this. He further stressed on the fact that we should gain the confidence of the masses by working with them and making them understand the importance of education. By building pressure on the government, the movement for childrens right to education and total abolition of child labor would gain momentum and lead to success. For this to happen, he mentioned that the knowledge of laws should percolate down to the villages so that the community can unite and question the government. Networks of social workers, government officials and intellectuals are important to spread the message. He reiterated that only when the citizens take up education as a movement on their own, would they be able to move the government to formulate a law based on child rights perspective..

In support of Mr. Bacchu Kaddos statement that people should know about the law first, in order to build up pressure at the central level, Dr. S.C. Vats, MLA, Delhi stated that there is a need for a strong will and intent of the government to shape a law that is fair to our children He assured his support to this movement and promised to raise his voice in the Assembly with regard to the Education bill.

Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director NCERT, touched upon four important areas while referring to the education bill. Firstly, that children cannot be agencies for protection of their rights. They are something special and one cannot expect a five year old child to look after his/her right. Hence, protecting child rights should be a symbol of collective consciousnesses. But looking at the present situation he said that we should question ourselves whether we as citizens have failed to follow our conscience. . He stated that the demand for education raised by Gokhale which was rejected by the government 100 years ago has repeated itself today. Secondly, he mentioned with anguish that the Constitution guarantees education as a fundamental right to children in the 6-14 years age group, and that the 0-6yrs did not find a mention. He said that unless all children up to 14 years of age are guaranteed their right to education, the child may either not survive or sooner than later join the labour force, alive. Thirdly, he mentioned that in a federal system as in India since 1920 neither the Centre nor the State Governments have taken up the responsibility for its children. Due to this, children up to 6 years of age have been totally ignored. The Central government must have a vision and a high level of motivation to achieve this dream. He mentioned how the government itself is discriminatory by giving admission to children of government employees alone in Kendriya Vidyalayas in spite of the Constitutional mandate that it would not be discriminatory.. Hence the government has drifted away from its vision.

Fourthly, he criticized encouraging privatization of education as it also created a perception that the government is ineffective. This lack of faith in the education departments abilities enabled the argument of handing over the education system to the corporate sector who could then use their brand names to sell education. He also criticized the plan for issuing of coupons and vouchers to the poor to access education in private institutions. He stated that, when we attack the government we often neglect the fact that there is an international force which has the force to take over and privatize education. He said that ultimately a good society is one where all its citizens are educated.

Mr. Madhu Goud MP stated that, Being a government person I see crores of Rupees being spent but when it comes to education and health the government talks about money. He went on to speak of his constituency (Hyderabad) where the schools have no toilets, no proper infrastructure, and no power etc due to misuse of funds which has been allocated for SSA. Given these circumstances one can see that there is a lot of corruption. He also stated examples of Chief Ministers inaugurating buildings where lakhs of rupees are spent for these unnecessary visits but there are no hostel facilities for the children of the state. With regard to, how child labour can be removed in the country, he emphasized on the point that, if we are to remove child labour then first we need to work on sustainable income for the parents. He concluded by suggesting that we should not only depend on the MPs but this movement should be a participatory act to make it a reality.

Dr.R.Govinda of NIEPA, emphasized that the SSA is a programme and not a policy which cannot be a substituted for taking care of education for all. He also stated that there are still lakhs of children who do not attend schools with just six or seven states of India accounting for 75% of the out of school child population in the country. He felt that until we have a focused effort this would not be solved and the SSA is not enough. He further stated that the model bill should bring up questions regarding allocation of funds and the percentage of funds that would be given by the Central Government and the State Governments. He criticized that the model bill was more a teacher control bill and less a right to education bill as it did not specify the entitlements of the child and the responsibility of the government. He suggested that achieving the goal of universal education and common education system requires relentless effort of all.

Prof. Yash Pal, Former Chairperson, pondered on the thought that, Are we a civilized society? There is something wrong with our society as no country in the world denies its children education. We may talk of all our heritage and development but what the hell is development if children are neglected? He commented that, the middle class was the main problem in our society today and that is the reason why problems like child labour and illiteracy continue to breed and perpetuate. He felt that they flourished at the cost of increasing inequalities and disparities in the society today and nobody wants to talk about the common school system. The country has become ungovernable. If education is not essential then nothing else is.

In support of Prof. Yash Pal Swami Agnivesh, stated that it must be recognized that any child who is not in school is a child labour and in reality there are 10-12 crore children as child labour and not 6-7cr as stated by Dr. Govinda. He went on to state that the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was redundant and that if the government had not yet realized this then it is a dead government. By just including children engaged in domestic child labour and in hotels and dhabas the government is actually cheating its children , who are working in bondage being out of schools. He quoted Maharishi Dayanand, Like air to breathe, water to thirst and knowledge for all in the same manner and urged for a common school system. He criticized the growth in private schools with brand names that are excluding the poor and increasing disparities in the society. He blamed the middle class for creating this situation and termed it as a conspiracy as they dont want the poor to rise.

He suggested that the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1976 should be enforced since the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 was limited. He concluded stating that Andolan karna parega. Niklo aur andolan par chalo. He emphasized that by taking up the cause of childrens rights a Bharat Nav Nirman Maha Abhiyan must begin at the national and global level.

Prof. Mridula Mukherjee, Director, Nehru Memorial Museum, raised the question as to why is it taking so long for getting the government to accept the childrens right to education bill and make commitments on it.? She illustrated on the other hand how quick the movement for reservation of seats in higher education institutions has been yielded to by the government. In spite of public debate on the issue there is no public outcry on this issue of Right to Education. She highlighted the fact that using the poverty argument has become an excuse for not extending school education. As far as the poor are concerned she said that they want education for their children. She also referred to the international context and stated that, no international organization would tell the government not to educate their children. So we should not pass the buck on to someone else. It is our problem so we should put in the pressure and pass the bill. We should also link the RTI Act and Rural Employment Guarantee Act with the Right to Education bill. Under these acts we should prioritize education and schools. She concluded by stating that we should energize civil society to have a movement to get to the goal.

Prof. Shantha Sinha, MV Foundation gave the concluding speech of the session. She stated that despite our repeated struggle to pass the education bill the government has withdrawn it. The situation has come to such a point that those who are making the policies are not listening to the voices of the poor and their children. 400 million children in the 0-14 years age group belong to India as its citizens. She said that we have gathered here to tell the government to take care of its children it is their right. She mentioned that the government must recognize the explosive demand for education among the poor and the enormous sacrifices they are making to send their children to schools. They seem to have a greater faith in the system than the system has in itself. Because if they begin to loose their faith in the education system school system would just collapse. Hence we cant afford to let the poor to get cynical. It high time the government recognizes that the poor are ready but the system is not and has to gear up!She mentioned that, we are fighting for a rhetoric that no child must work and every child must be in a full time formal school and even that is not in place. She also mentioned that the SSA cannot be compartmentalized into achieving primary school education first. If there is no plan for children to continue in school after class five the effort to get them to study up to primary schools is totally wasted. Childrens progress from one class to the next up to class ten must seen as a whole. No honest effort will go unheard. She suggested that we have to expand our base and use the voice of the poor to strengthen our plan of action and negotiate with the government to ensure that the Bill on Free and Compulsory Education is brought up in the Parliament and education becomes a reality for every child.

The 2^nd session was chaired by Dr. Neera Burra. The speakers for this session were as follows:

Mr. Mahaveer Jain, NLI

Mr. Babu Mathew, Action Aid

Mr. Vasudeva Sharma, Karnataka

Mr. Suryakant Kulkarni, SEDT, Maharastra

Mr. Balasubramaniam, JVV, Andhra Pradesh

Mr. Ambika Prasad Nanda of Action Aid, Orissa

Mr. Aditya Mukherjee, JNU

Dr. Neera Burra introduced the session and welcomed the speakers. She stated that we have a lot to learn from other movements while talking about child labour and Right to Education. Hence, we need to re-strategize and bring in people who have influence on public life to take this movement forward. She also mentioned that the middle class should not be blamed as they are also the stake holders. She felt that when we talk of Right to Education we need to do some soul searching to see where this movement is going as we are talking about a different reality which is based on non-fundamental literature. She suggested that we should use this time to re-think, re-group, re-strategize and have a non- negotiable agenda on the education bill.

Mr. Mahaveer Jain, NLI, raised the question, whether we talk of education, health or right, what are we doing? Cant we just talk of the childs perspective? This is the right time to act as the government is struggling with child labour and education issues. He emphasized on the fact that issues emerge at the micro level but we are working at the organizational and state level. It is time now to change people at the national level. He highlighted that, Our goal has to be that every child should be in school and not labour. Nothing less nothing more.

Mr. Babu Mathew, Action Aid, stressed on the linkage between child labour and right to education which is very critical as it can lead to clarity and dynamism but failure to link the two can lead us astray. Keeping this point in mind he said that the government in the present situation is not clear whether to abolish or regulate child labour as per the Child Labour (Regulation and Prohibition) Act 1986. The government wants to do both and hence it leads to a lot of conceptual confusion. With regard to the model bill, he stated that a model bill is a legislative bill and if properly implemented can be successful but if the content is weak the goal of education for all cannot be achieved.. Hence, he suggested that it was important to engage more intensively and work for a correct bill and tell the government to change its provisions to ensure that children enjoy their right to education..

Mr. Suryakant Kulkarni, SEDT, Maharastra, stated that we have so many provisions yet we are faced with so many problems due to the fact that there is no conceptual clarity and so our problems keep multiplying. The Supreme Court passed several judgments but its implementation has been weak. For example, a judgment was passed that in every district there should be a child labour officer who was conveniently never appointed and the existing labour officers were assigned additional responsibilities instead, in violation of the law. Also according to the NCP report all rights were to be given to children below 18 years but in reality this did not happen. . With this he said that, I think we are too less in number. There is no MP, policy maker involved in this movement. We have to get them involved and make it everybodys business.

Mr. Vasudeva Sharma, Karnataka, sharing his experience of Karnataka stated that just two days before the government of Karnataka declared that class 8 examinations will be raised to public examination. He felt that this could be a result of this model bill. He suggested that we should motivate the CWCs and Gram panchayats for implementation of the laws .He further mentioned that the gram panchayat leaders be educated to record data on the number of school and non- school going children in the village to monitor every child and encourage education.

Mr. Balasubramaniam, JVV, Andhra Pradesh shared how JVV has been working in the field of education for the past 25 years in the Ernakulam district and has been successful in bringing Dalit children to schools in that district. He also stated that, the central government would oppose the Bill because it has to shell out 15000 crore rupees. With regard to the model bill he said that campaigners should organize themselves and all districts should have meetings in the country. Until and unless this is done we cannot run the show. A public debate has to take place. JVV sincerely felt that the education agenda should come up in a very big way and peoples movement should be built.

Mr. Ambika Prasad Nanda of Action Aid, Orissa, stressed on the importance of the campaign until the goal is reached. Policy research, debate and discussion and sharing of ideas was absolutely necessary. He also mentioned that entering into a dialogue with the government and not confrontation alone would help in achieving the goal.

Prof. Aditya Mukherjee, JNU, stated that even after 57 years of independence India has arrived at a stage where the poor have been completely left out of education. This is contrary to what the poor see as deprivation, which is education. He stated that this failure was an obvious failure on the equity goal set up since independence. He felt that it was a shame that the right to education bill was shelved in our country even as the government is asking the universities and institutions for higher education to double its resources which only shows the elitist nature of the government. He also mentioned how thw movement for childrens right to education had developed in Andhra Pradesh with the active participation of Child Rights Protection Forum (CRPF) and the MVFoundation. He mentioned how the CRPF recorded all statistics of children in and out of school and monitored them in a systematic fashion. In fact , the mebers of the CRPF were from all communities including several of them being dalits. This according to him amply proved that the entire society could come together for taking up the cause of children and their rights. He said while such a successful and alternate discourse on child rens right to education had taken off in Andhra Pradesh it had yet to catch the imagination of one and all in the country as a whole ,It was only when sufficient pressure from below to build a mass movement that the voices of the poor would be heard..

During the open discussion the ritghts of children with disbility and their integration into formal schools was also highlighted as being very important. It was also felt that if the from the sands of this country a movement must arisethere was a need to get the media involve in the campaign..

Day 2:

Ashok Agarwal of Social Jurist chaired the session. The speakers for this session were:

Mr. Ranjan Mohanty, Campaign against Child Labour

Enakshi Ganguly, HAQ Center for Child Rights

Mr. Anand Kotadia

Mr. Kulwant Singh Bawa, IFBWWU, Punjab

Mr.Paras Nath, Bihar

Mr. Nurul Haq, Child Rights Protection Forum, Assam

Ms.Kalyani, Hand in Hand, Tamil Nadu

Prof. Sucheta Mahajan, JNU

Ms. Farida, Member Trustee, Pratham

Mr. Ranjan Mohanty from CACL (Campaign against Child Labour) shared his experience of this campaign in Orissa. He stated that the right to education draft bill 2005 should be modified and brought to parliament whereby the government will be duty bound to implement it. He regretted that in spite of the draft bill being featured on the web site after the CABE meeting it was suddenly withdrawn and handed over to the state government. He expressed concern over mobilizing of resources by the state governments. We should tell the UPA government that this was not your commitment but ensuring education for your children was your commitment. He emphasized on the fact that like the literacy campaign the right to education campaign should be taken up by the people and it should be a peoples campaign.

Enakshi Ganguly, HAQ center for child rights, expressed her unhappiness on the status of the education bill and stated that the government does not realize that child labour is a cause and effect of lack of education She felt that there could be a fault in our strategy because of which this issue hasnt come about as a national movement. She felt that all of us should join together and say education is our constitutional right. She stated that innate is entrenched in right to quality education. She illustrated the case of Narmada Valley where two weeks ago children were arrested for protesting for the schools which had been submerged in the flood which raises a question regarding the value of quality education. She concluded by stating that, we have to have new strategies to have a social movement.

Mr. Anand Kotadia stated that the negative result should be taken positively and we should work on it as is the case with the education bill. He also said that Parliamentary advocacy is important and should be taken up on a long term basis and not just for one day. He was in favour of building a relationship with the government and working with the system instead of trying to paralyze the government.

Mr.Paras Nath, Bihar, suggested that the government should adopt the MV Foundation model. Besides this he emphasized on the fact that we should sensitize the Gram Panchayats and link them at the national level to create a movement and send the message across to the government.

Mr. Kulwant Singh Bawa, IFBWWU, Punjab stated that NGOs at various levels should come together and form a common platform to put pressure on the government to pass the education bill.

Mr. Nurul Haq, Child Rights Protection Forum, Assam shared his experience of how MV Foundation started work in Assam with youth issues. and how in 2002, nine RVCs were set up. He also regretted that though there has been a constant demand for these RVCs, the government is now planning to close them down. He felt that the government talking about universal education on one hand and closing down RVCs on the other was sending wrong signals. He suggested that more such seminars should be held so that we can take the message to our governments about what is happening at the national level.

Similarly, Ms.Kalyani, Hand in Hand, Tamil Nadu shared her experience of working with with M VFoundation. She recollected when Hand in Hand had initially approached MV Foundation to support them and the two conditions laid down by them, a) Stop evening schools, b) Stop paying the employers for rescuing Child Labourers. She suggested that those present here should go back to their states and follow a bottom up approach and work with the community. State level meets should also be organized to sensitize the issue and uplift it. She also felt that a song or a mantra could be composed to give the movement a common language. In support of Babu Matthewss argument she stated that, we should work on the content of the model bill. She concluded by stating that, let us not have too many laws, just one which says abolish child labour.

Dr. Sucheta Mahajan, JNU stated that since 1998 she has been associated with MVF in their work in AP. She stated the approach that MVF has taken to address the issue of child labour is a good and viable one. When we talk about a national movement we can adopt this approach and it is very important to catch the imagination of the people . She remarked that we should not strive for a parallel system but instead work with the existing education system and build its capacity to give it a new vision and life.

In support of Prof. Sucheta Mahajans argument, Ms. Farida Lambay, Member Trustee, Pratham stated that we should not advocate for a parallel school system as it is the governments duty to ensure free and compulsory education for all children from 6-14yrs. She highlighted that, data, task forces, political will, community mobilization are all important tools to advocate for quality education and abolishing child labour.

In conclusion Shantha Sinha mentioned that the movement for ensuring childrens right to education had to be taken forward at the State level. The endeavour to bring about changes in the law to include all forms of child labor as well as press the Parliament to bring the debate on the Bill to the Parliament had to be further strengthened through exercise of pressure from the local to national level in a systematic fashion. Taking these suggestions, Mr. Ashok Agarwal concluded the session by stating that we should look into the fact as to how public awareness can be created to take up this issue of education bill.

The following suggestions were made during the open house session:

· Along with contacting Parliamentarians, bureaucracy had to be tapped and worked upon to get them involved in this movement.

· Political parties must take up child rights as their election campaign.

· A nation wide post card campaign should be launched and sent to the Members of Parliament.

· Protest in all offices by planting a sapling in front of the government offices all over the country on one particular day to spread the message.

· Gather at least 50 MPs from all parts of the country on a particular day for a mass meeting.

· Dharna on a fixed date in front of State Legislative Assembly and all district level offices.

· Involve media and the corporate sector and mobilize support of middle class and youth.

· Use platforms such as Internet, Hutch Mobile Marathon and others to spread the message.

NATIONAL MEET ON ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR AND ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION, 25 ^TH & 26^TH AUGUST 2006

RESOLUTION

The 86^th Amendment to the Constitution of India has guaranteed a fundamental right to education in 2002. This Constitutional Amendment provided for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental right under article 21A in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. In view of the States obligation to its children:

Ø We demand that the Parliament of India ensure that every child enjoys her right to education and enact the Act on Free and Compulsory Education as mandated by the Constitution of India at a national level.

Ø We oppose the Central Governments decision to intimate to the State governments to enact a law on the basis of a Model Bill and shelve the Bill altogether at the Parliament. This is against the fundamental right to education as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Ø We demand that the Parliament protects the rights of 250 million children in the 6-14 age group and 160 million children up to 6 years in India as they too are citizens of the country and take full responsibility for them.

Ø We demand that the Parliament abolishes all forms of child labor to ensure that every child enjoys her right to education.

Ø We demand that the government has a systematic policy for rescue and rehabilitation of children withdrawn from work and provide all the amenities and facilities to enable children participate in full time formal day schools.

Ø We demand that the common school system is introduced and the principles of equity and justice are reflected in every clause that is introduced for protection of childrens rights to education in order to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.

MESSAGE FROM JUSTICE V.N. KHARE

Former Chief Justice of India

Childrens right to education is a very important subject, which will have a tremendous impact on the future of the country. The way a nation deals with its children, looks after them, nurtures them, brings them up, educates them decides whether that nation will have a large majority of citizens living with dignity, self esteem and feeling secure, who not only demand but also contribute, not only assert their individual rights but also observe their collective obligations. They will not be misguided into unproductive or even destructive agitations by interested demagogies. All in all the country will be able to build a peaceful, prosperous and a democratic society full of opportunity for the diverse talents of its people.

Realizing this, our Constitution has specially provided a few articles concerning the welfare of children. Perhaps as Constitutions go this is somewhat unique. These are articles 24, 39 and 45 of the Constitution dealing with prohibition of children from being employed in factories, mines or in other hazardous employment (Article 24), protection of the tender age of children and their development in a healthy manner with freedom and dignity (Article 39) and free and compulsory education for all children within ten years of the promulgation of the constitution ( article 45). The last article has been further reinforced by the judgment of the Supreme Court in 1993 in the Unnikrishnan and others Vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh case in which the Supreme Court observed that the obligation to provide free and compulsory education has been converted into an enforceable right by efflux of time. This judgment of the Supreme Court has in 2002 became embodied in the 86^th amendment act.

Surprisingly, there have been many laws made both before independence and after independence by different States for providing free and compulsory education. At least in 19 states of the Union, presently compulsory education Acts are in force. Some of these replaced earlier Acts on the subject dating back to 1917 onwards i.e. before independence. According to a report by National Institute of Education Planning and Administration there is no dearth of legislations in this regard but after 1971-72 there seems to have been a deliberate slowing down in the efforts to universalize elementary education.

An examination of the reasons for this slow down shows that essentially both at center and states budget allocations for education remained stagnant or nearly so far many years. Considering the continuous prevalence of inflation, the proportion of GDP allocated for education has been going down while the aim is to achieve a six percent of GDP as a minimum requirement. Some nations spend more than this proportion on education.

In discussing appropriate legislation to implement the right to education, two issues have cropped up.

1. How to force the centre and the states to allocate and spend the necessary financial and other resources to ensure that every child is in school receiving quality education up to the age of 14 years?

2. How to bind the State to provide for all that is necessary to make it possible for children their right to education?

On the first issue, a two per cent education cess has been levied on all taxes in the country and apparently this money is being used partly to fund the mid day meal scheme and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. In doing so, the Government professes that education is important and it is making every effort to raise resources to ensure that all children attend schools. On the other hand in raising separate resources for education, indicates that the Government is unwilling to share any of the existing resources that it has mobilized and give our children their due share in the general pool. We have noticed how in the past fifty years, Governments at the Centre and the State have incurred huge deficits on account of expenditure on several items which were largely infructuous. But when it comes to incurring expenditure on childrens education, the message Government seems to be giving is that it is reluctant to fund through the general pool.

The question therefore, is whether any provision can be made in proposed legislation enforcing the Central Government to provide all the funds necessary for the purpose of the legislation.

So far as the second issue is concerned, provisions to bind the State to integrate every out of school child engaged in work, into the school and train them individually to join classes appropriate to their age must be made. Further it must guarantee that in provisioning of facilities to the schools the principle of equity and justice informs all the education policies. Any citizen should have the right to complain about violation of childrens right to education. The court must entertain the information as a petition and use its authority to enforce the citizens rights, which will make it possible for the child to be in schools.

Finally, a broad issue is who should be held responsible for implementing this whole program. There are attempts to pass on the issue from the Centre to the States in our country. Children belong to the nation as a whole. The Union government cannot abdicate its responsibility towards them specially later subject education has been shifted from List II of the VII Schedule to the Constitution to List III which is Concurrent List by 42 ^nd Amendment of the Constitution. Now subject Education has become prime responsibility of the Union. It is children right and it has to be guaranteed through an Act of Parliament. Children must be treated as assets of the nation and not as a burden. What more can one ask for than see our countrys children being liberated from a world of deprivation and loss of childhood to enjoying freedom and acquiring knowledge. Investments in their education must not be seen as bad debts but as an instrument to enrich India’s democracy.

 

 

World Literacy Day message from the ILP National Convenor

 

Dear friends,

 

On this important day, we at India Literacy Project would like to reflect on the importance of Literacy. There are two transformations we see in how we define literacy:

 

1. Literacy is Empowerment - being educated and literate empowers an individual in making choices for their own and their families' happiness, and in being productive citizens of the world.

 

2. Education in our minds has evolved from the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) to the 3Es (Education, Employment and Empowerment) . Our intervention programs embody this philosophy - the programs don't stop just at enrolment or retention, but addresses quality and sustainability via community ownership, leading to an empowered population.

 

The seeds we sow today will become the rich fruit bearing trees of tomorrow. We encourage everyone who believes in the cause of a literate and empowered population to visit the links below:

 

Literacy as a Movement of People (India Literacy Project)

http://www.ilpnet.org

 

International Literacy day - information

http://portal. unesco.org/ education/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=41141&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

UNESCO literacy prize winners - Rajasthan

http://portal. unesco.org/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=33384&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

Literacy Initative for Empowerment (LIFE)

LAMP

http://portal. unesco.org/ education/ en/ev.php- URL_ID=42853&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201.html

 

Literacy statistics

http://www.uis. unesco.org/ ev.php?URL_ ID=5204&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTIonfiltered= 201

On behalf of India Literacy Project,

Padmini Ranganathan

 

 

Govt. of India Bans Child Labour in Domestic Sector

THE GAZETTE OF INDIA

 

EXTRAORDINARY

PART II Section 3 Sub-Section (ii)

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

No. 711 NEW DELHI, MONDAY, JULY 10, 2006/ASADHA 19, 1928

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

(Child Labour Section)

NOTIFICATION

S.O. 1 029(E). -In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 4 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (61 of .1986), the Central Government hereby gives three months notice of its intention to add the following occupations in the Schedule to the said Act, namely: ­

In the Schedule to the said Act, in Part A, under the heading "Occupations", after item (13) and the entry relating thereto, the following items and entries shall be added, namely; ­

"(14) Employment of children as domestic workers or servants;

(15) Employment of children in dhabas (road-side eateries), restaurants, hotels, motels, tea-shops, resorts, spas or other recreational centres.

[F. No. S-2701213/97-CL] S. K. SRIVASTAVA, Jt. Secy.

Footnote: The first notification to amend the Schedule was issued vide number S.O. 61 dated the 23rd December, 1986 and subsequently the same was amended vide number: -.

(1) S.0.404 (E), dated the 5th June, 1989

(2) S.O. 263(E), dated the 29th March, 1994

(3) S.O. 36(E), dated the 27th January, 1999

and last amended vide notification number S.O.293(E), dated 10th May, 2001

Click here for Hindi Version

Printed by the Manager, Govt. of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-I 10064 . and Published by the 'Controller of Publications, Delhi-I 10054.

ILP campaigns for Right to Education Bill

RIGHT TO EDUCATION BILL

THE CAMPAIGN

 

• What is the bill about?

• History of the Bill

• Why are we campaigning?

• Goals and Next Steps

• How can you help

• News articles about the bill

• Letter to PM on RTE bill

• FAQs

What is the bill about?

• Every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years has the right to free and compulsory education. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act added Article 21A. The right to education bill seeks to give effect to this amendment
• The government schools shall provide free education to all the children and the schools will be managed by school management committees (SMC). Private schools shall admit at least 25% of the children in their schools without any fee.
• The National Commission for Elementary Education shall be constituted to monitor all aspects of elementary education including quality.

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The text of the entire bill can be read at: http://educationforallinindia.com/RighttoEducationBill2005.pdf

History of the billl

December 2002

86th Amendment Act (2002) via Article 21A (Part III) seeks to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group 6-14 years.

October 2003

A first draft of the legislation envisaged in the above Article, viz., Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill, 2003, was prepared and posted on this website in October, 2003, inviting comments and suggestions from the public at large.

2004

Subsequently, taking into account the suggestions received on this draft, a revised draft of the Bill entitled Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2004, was prepared and posted on the http://education.nic.in website.

June 2005

The CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) committee drafted the ‘Right to Education’ Bill and submitted to the Ministry of HRD. MHRD sent it to NAC where Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson. NAC sent the Bill to PM for his observation.

14th July 2006

The finance committee and planning commission rejected the Bill citing the lack of funds and a Model bill was sent to states for the making necessary arrangements. (Post-86th amendment, States had already cited lack of funds at State level)

19th July 2006

CACL, SAFE, NAFRE, CABE invited ILP and other organizations for a Planning meeting to discuss the impact of the Parliament action, initiate advocacy actions and set directions on what needs to be done at the district and village levels.

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Why are we campaigning?

• The government rejected the bill quoting that it lacks resources to fund the bill which we feel is unreasonable since the budget for the bill is estimated to be Rs 4,36,000 cr.
• The people of this nation are being betrayed by not being given the Right to Free and Compulsory Education through Central Government legislation. We need to make sure that people are given those rights.

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Goals and Next Steps

• File a petition online about the bill
• Reach out to as many people as possible and get them to sign the petition
• Generate enough momentum and try to reintroduce the bill by Aug 29^th 2006

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How can you help

• By signing the online petition
• By spreading awareness amongst other Indians about the bill.

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Right to Education Bill in the news

1. Private schools have the last laugh on RTE

Letter to PM

The A letter addressed to the PM was written by the NKC regarding RTE bill. This can be accessed at: http://www.ilpnet.org/rte/LettertoPMonRTEbill20Oct2006.doc

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FAQs

1. Why is the Bill important?

The Bill is important because it is the first step in the direction of the government’s active role in ensuring implementation of the Constitutional Amendment. And as important, the Bill:

· Legislates provision of free and compulsory elementary and secondary education

· Provides for a school in every neighborhood

· Provides for a School Monitoring Committee – elected representatives of the community to ensure proper functioning

· Mandates that no child in the age group 6-14 shall be employed

All this are right steps to lay the foundation for the development of a common public school system that can provide quality education to all the children, thus preventing exclusion of socially and economically disadvantaged population.

2. Why is the chosen age group 6 - 14?

· The bill focuses on providing primary to high school education compulsorily to all children and also the education given in this age group would be the ground work for their future.

3. Why do we (ILP) support the Right to Education Bill?

• ILP has supported the Right to Education Bill since 1997
• ILP helped campaign for the 93rd amendment to the Constitution making education a fundamental right of a child.
• ILP is a core member of Campaign Against Child Labor, child labor being one of the issues addressed by the Bill – where the Bill specifically states ” No person shall employ or engage a child in a manner that renders her a working child.”
• For immediate action ILP will join the existing networks and involve all its partners to be active in the networks through wall writings, pamphlet distributions, organizing press meets, consultations, signature campaign from SHGs( one of the biggest force to demand education). Join with CACL in Karnataka, APACR in Andhra Pradesh, a network in Orissa through our partners, Rajasthan we can Ask Mr. RAjan Chowdhury , our partner to oraganise campign activities there. In Tamil Nadu CACL is active. In the US, ILP-US to coordinate a signature campaign and submit a petition to the Ministry of HRD, Prime Minister and President of India

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ILP Partners’ Meet 2006

 

ILP Partners’ Meet 2006 – Aug 9-12, 2006

St. Ann’s Generalate, Tharnaka, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh

 

Through the years, ILP has established mutually beneficial & highly successful relationships with over 25 NGO’s from 10 different states. Some of these partners are supported by ILP in their grass-roots intervention programs, whereas others are thought-leaders in several key areas that align with ILP’s philosophy and strategy.

 

The Annual Partners’ meet is ILP’s efficient way of creating an opportunity for its volunteers, partners and associated NGOs to interact, learn with and from each other, analyze success stories, and incorporate new and creative techniques of eliminating illiteracy in India. This year’s Partners’ meet will be held at St. Ann’s Generalate, Tharnaka, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India from August 9, 2006 to August 12, 2006 at. Experts from various departments in the government, accomplished organizations, and institutions will take their precious time and speak in this meet sharing their experiences to ILP and its partners.

 

Every Partners’ meet is centered around a distinct theme - this year’s theme is ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development). Research suggests that significant development of critical brain and intelligence occurs before the age of seven, particularly during the first three years of life. ECCD is an essential precursor for a healthy community, where childr