By Aristotle Lyngdoh
When the right of children to free and compulsory education became a law on 26th August 2009, it was another milestone that the nation has reached in the social sector. In fact the history of this dates back to the drafting of the Indian Constitution during independence. But more specifically it was the Constitutional Amendment in 2002 where article 21A was inserted in the constitution thereby making education a fundamental right. In another sense, this is like opening up of the gateway. But in comparison to other developed nations of the world, we are still far behind and have a lot of catching up to do.
There is a huge difference and mismatch of opportunities among children of this country. Those who are privileged have better access to opportunities which ultimately keeps them on top and ahead of others. And this has contradicted the basic principles enshrined in the Constitution which is equality of status and of opportunity. Therefore, it is the duty of the government to structure policies with clear and relevant objectives to guide the direction of this great initiative.
Another interesting fact is that the UNCRC (United Nation Convention on Child Rights) declaration of 1989 has stipulated The Right to Development as one of the primary basic rights of a child. Therefore, in the broader sense, holistic development of a child includes, besides education, other essential services for physical, spiritual and social development.
India has ratified this Declaration on December 1992 which makes it mandatory for the country and the Government to act according to this international treaty. Hence, it is mandatory for the government to ensure the development of children. Under these circumstances, right to education is one of the aspects in this whole process. But if our policymakers think that by merely by opening of the gateway they have achieved something then the amount of resources spent here is just another extravagant expenditure.
The entire educational progress is not very pleasant and people are compelled to practice forgery and acquire fake certificates. The drop-out rate is still high and uncontainable. The HRD Minister Smriti Irani in her reply in Rajya Sabha said that the drop-out rate is 4.3 percent in 2014-15. UNESCO’s Report (17th Aug 2016) said that 47 million students in India dropped out of school by 10th standard. No doubt there is a considerable increase in enrollment but in terms of student’s development and progress the statistic is silent with no substantial data.
A flagship programme of this magnitude should also yield extraordinary outcomes but instead the government seems to have begotten extra additional problems in the form of teachers’ agitation, RTI notices and many others. There is no doubt that RTE and SSA have benefitted many school children including school managements too. But I am afraid that there are some schools that have closed down after availing financial assistance for the construction of school buildings. If this is the case, perhaps the teachers’ salary too might be withdrawn regularly by the founder-cum-owner of the school. Who paved the way for such situation to arise? The fact solely lies in lack of accountability in this regard. Accountability indeed is the key but it is not embedded in these schemes unlike the NREGA which is subject to social auditing.
If the Modi government is insisting so much on individual accountability on income tax returns and others, it should also consider seriously the progress of the children of this country. Government aided and funded institutions should be made accountable where the progress and performance of the institution is measured by the achievement of the students. Those Institutions with low performance rate should be closely monitored as to how they are managed and by evaluating the standards of teaching as well. Local audit alone will not help in achieving the desired objectives because auditors are also not free from the temptation to adjust and manipulate with the misappropriation. Even if institutions are maintaining proper records to satisfy auditor’s duty yet on the scholastic and co-scholastic areas the performance of students is very poor. And why do such things happen despite substantial support being provided by the government? I am definitely sure that there are many grey areas that need to be rectified.
New schools and colleges are coming up every year both in rural and urban Meghalaya. Most of these are established by individuals or private organizations primarily with the intention to avail financial assistance after few years. Even those who have availed financial support for so many years have not shown the desired quality and standard of education which is at par with other premier institutions. Children’s progress and development in education is not considered a priority. The primary reason for this is because teachers and faculty are recruited randomly for the sake of institution’s requirement. By common sense, this is obvious especially when the school is newly established and funding is very limited. But the moment financial support is acquired, these semiskilled folks become the regular and indirect salaried employees of the government.
Therefore, a meaningful right to education for children should also mean a right to quality education with proper and sound foundation. Every person is born equal and this istrue in the intellectual aspect too. Our children should get the same opportunity in terms of information and teaching foundation right from early ages. And this can only happen if teachers are recruited from certified categories. Therefore, the objective that every child should succeed or at least have equal opportunity to succeed and compete should never be denied or limited. It is not only a right to be able to attend school but also to learn the same principles and foundations that other children in premier institutions are getting.
In our state of Meghalaya, there are thousands of schools run by private agencies and by the government. But when the 10th and 12th results are declared, only the names of students from same old institutions figure in the top ten category. What happens to others institutions? Are they enrolling students of sub-standard intelligence who are below average or is it because the foundation they have been imparted is vulnerable to confusion and not appropriate?
The hope of the future generation rests on the system of education of today and the quality teaching of today will produce quality students for tomorrow. But who will seriously think for these issues? It is very sad to see that our elected representatives are debating and having a verbal spat on petty issues like cattle being smuggled but silent on important issues that affects the very purpose of existence and the future progress of the state. Governments are elected and formed not only for the purpose of granting and satisfying people’s demand but to also monitor and evaluate each and every program carefully thereby ensuring proper implementation to fully benefit the public. The goal of every development program should be clearly outlined and envisioned in advance like an artist who has seen the real image before making a fine sketch.