RTE – The Wire

Jean Dreze: Only 20% Student Attendance in Govt Primary, Upper Primary Schools in Bihar

“The teachers are not there, the quality of education is poor, infrastructure is dismal, the midday meal is of poor quality, and the DBT for textbooks and uniforms is a failure,” he said, while releasing a survey report.

New Delhi: Economist Jean Dreze said on Friday, August 4 that only 20% of students were attending classes at government primary and upper primary schools in Bihar, the Telegraph reported.

“The teachers are not there, the quality of education is poor, infrastructure is dismal, the midday meal is of poor quality, and the direct benefit transfer for textbooks and uniforms is a failure,” he said.

He said this while releasing a survey report, “Where are the kids? The curious case of government schools in Bihar”, conducted by the Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS).

Dreze, along with JJSS secretary Ashish Ranjan, guided the survey, the newspaper reported.

Earlier this year, an assessment was carried out in Bihar’s Araria and Katihar districts to evaluate the condition of the schooling system, after the COVID-19 crisis. The study encompassed 81 randomly selected primary and upper-primary schools in the region.

“Only around 20% of the enrolled students were present in the schools on the day the survey was conducted. This is perhaps the lowest in the world. It is a very big crisis. This is not just limited to Araria and Katihar, but is true for the entire Bihar,” Dreze told the Telegraph.

“Some of the possible reasons could be — no teaching happening in the schools, the closure of schools for two years because of Covid-19 could have destroyed the school-going habit of the children, private tuitions, fake enrolment of students, and the strange and inappropriate system of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for books and school uniform that leaves the poor with a cruel choice between basic needs and education,” Dreze added.

According to the survey, approximately two-thirds of the primary schools (classes I to V) and nearly all upper primary schools (classes VI to VIII) in the region had a pupil-teacher ratio exceeding the maximum permissible limit of 30, as stipulated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Furthermore, the survey revealed that teachers frequently exaggerated student attendance figures.

It was observed that around 90% of the schools lacked proper boundary walls, playgrounds, and libraries. Shockingly, approximately 9% of the schools sampled did not even have a proper building.

In addition, the survey found that the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system for providing textbooks and uniforms was a failure. Many students in the schools lacked essential materials because they either did not receive the allocated funds from the government or the funds were used for other purposes.

Educationist D.M. Diwakar argued against the DBT system, suggesting that textbooks should be directly distributed to students instead of providing monetary assistance.

He pointed out that the state government had given textbook printing and supply contracts to individuals affiliated with political parties. “If the government cannot supply, how can small players supply textbooks?…,” Diwakar told the daily.

According to the survey, government schools seem to be in danger of mass displacement by private coaching centres.

Andhra Pradesh: A Marginal Rise in Education Budget Is Unlikely to Boost the Sector

The education budget allocation has fallen since the bifurcation of the united state in 2014, despite the state’s literacy being one of the worst in the country.

Tirupati: The Andhra Pradesh budget for 2022-23, which was presented on March 11, 2022, has slightly increased the allocation for the state’s education sector to 11.74% compared with 10.7% in the last financial year. However, it is still low when compared to other southern states.

The education budget allocation has fallen since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 (Table 1). This does not augur well for Andhra Pradesh, which has a literacy rate of 66.4% – lower than Bihar’s 70.9%, as per the National Sample Survey 2017-18. As per the 2021-22 socio-economic survey, the state’s literacy rate (67.35%) is also lower than the national average (72.98%). Moreover, the 2011 census pegged the state at the 31st position in literacy.

Table 1: Allocation for education in AP budget.

The state also failed to comply with the recommendations of the Kothari Commission, which suggested 30% of the state budget be earmarked toward education.

Ramesh Patnaik, convenor of the Save Education Committee of Andhra Pradesh, “We are asking the government to spend at least 20% of their budget on education. The late chief minister N.T. Rama Rao had spent 19% during his tenure. The percentage spent has fallen over the years and is not in keeping with the rising inflation and needs.”

In 2020-21, the number of students enrolled in the state’s government schools increased by 635,655 from 2018-19 (Table 2). Of this, around two lakh students dropped out of school.

As far as teacher posts are concerned, there are more than 50,000 vacant – affecting the quality of trained teachers. Of the 226,266 sanctioned posts in the education department, only 173,713 are filled up.

Table 2: Statistics provided by the AP education department to the MLC, as per information on 30-04-2021.

New changes

The state government recently came up with a proposal to transfer Classes 3, 4, 5 of primary schools to nearby upper primary schools and high schools. The upper primary schools will be converted into high schools, and classrooms will be constructed as per the requirement.

The move was claimed to be in line with the Union government’s new education policy.

Also read: How Do Indian States Measure up in Providing Access to Basic Social and Economic Services?

According to G. Hrudaya Raju, president of the Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Federation (APTF), “When it was initially rolled out, the norm was to merge the three classes with the nearest high school within a 250-metre distance. But this [the distance] has been currently increased to three kilometres. The move is not in line with the Union government’s policy which stated that the existing structure should not be disturbed.”

With the changed norms, the government plans to have a primary school within a one-kilometre distance, an upper primary school within a three-kilometre radius and a high school within a five-kilometre radius.

The unions say that this will impact the students’ attendance, and a lack of sufficient students in primary schools would then make them fit to be closed. The government also plans to bring the anganwadis into the primary school premises.

K.S.S. Prasad, president of the United Teachers’ Federation, Andhra Pradesh, said, “This is not what we had asked for. Our demand was to merge the pre-primary anganwadi system into the primary school to increase retention of children. Children who come to anganwadis are those who join government schools.”

The teachers’ unions say this move will affect 39,140 primary schools in the state.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during a discussion in the state assembly on the repeal of laws pertaining to three capitals on November 22. Photo: YouTube

The government has, however, tried to justify the exercise by saying that they are appointing subject-wise teachers in the primary schools. It also said that the move will promote 30,000 primary school teachers as secondary grade teachers.

Meanwhile, to address the shortage of teachers, the government has shut Telugu medium classes, troubling first-generation learners who opted to study in this medium.

Further, the state’s education department is absorbing private-aided schools, which were earlier run with the help of government grants, to fill up vacancies. Students and parents protested against the move, as many of these schools not only have a long legacy but are also the nearest and preferred schools for many. After the protests, the government decided to roll back its decision and allowed schools to operate in the old format.

On asking the rationale behind an objection to subject-wise teachers from Class 3, K. Kulasekhar Reddy, general secretary of APTF, said, “Unlike private English medium school students who start learning in LKG and UKG, the government school students start learning only in Class 3. Teachers devote more time to Telugu and math, which are difficult subjects, and adjust timings accordingly, which is not possible with separate subject teachers.”

It is important to note that most students in government schools are first-generation learners and don’t get the required help from their parents, he added.

According to Patnaik, convenor of the Save Education Committee of Andhra Pradesh, the changes are a violation of the Right to Education Act. As per section 38(4) of the Act, every rule or notification made by the state government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the state legislatures.

“The exercise was initially taken up on May 31, 2021 by issuing a government order, but the government backtracked it after facing opposition and restricted the distance to 250 metres. However, the exercise affected nearly 4,000 schools,” he said.

The process of amalgamation of schools also affected Urdu, Oriya, Kannada and Tamil medium, and other schools, said Sheikh Sabjee, a member of the state legislative council, representing the East and West Godavari Teachers’ constituency.

Watch | ‘As Schools Reopen, 230 Million Children Face the Worst Education Crisis in India’

Pay revision

The government-appointed Ashutosh Mishra Committee on October 5, 2020 came up with a revised pay commission. State government employees, including teachers, took to the streets saying that instead of a hike, the salary revision only resulted in pay cuts for all. What infuriated them more was the government’s bid to slash the additional quantum of pension benefits to employees until 80 years.

However, the strike was called off after government employees’ unions settled for lesser cuts in benefits.

Details of pension benefits before and after the 11th PRC.

Meanwhile, the government is yet to scrap the contributory pension scheme (CPS) for which it has sought time. The teachers’ unions have demanded that the CPS be repealed and the old pension scheme be introduced again.

The government has even failed to release the fourth instalment of the cash transfer scheme, Jagananna Vidya Deevena, for the academic year 2020-21. The programme was launched by the state government to encourage students hailing from poor economic backgrounds to pursue higher education by reimbursing full fee which includes tuition, special and examination fees.

Watch | Explained: Everything You Need to Know about the New Education Policy

The Wire’s Srishti Srivastava speaks to RTE’s national convenor Ambarish Rai and DU teachers Laxman Yadav and Abha Dev Habib.

The Union cabinet has approved the new education policy. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) will now be called Ministry of Education. Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar told the press that because the education policy has not been changed for 34 years, it was essential to adopt a new one. The earlier policy was introduced in 1986 and some amendments were made in 1992.

In this report by Srishti Srivastava, The Wire explains every important issue related to the new education policy and understand every change of this policy. She speaks to RTE’s national convenor Ambarish Rai and DU teachers Laxman Yadav and Abha Dev Habib.

Based On The Wire’s Reporting, NHRC Issues Notice to Delhi Government

The commission said that the children of Chilla Khadar not having a school in their vicinity, forcing them to row a boat across the Yamuna, is a violation of human rights and the RTE Act.

New Delhi: Taking cognizance of the fact that the children of Chilla Khadar do not have a school in their vicinity and are forced row a boat across the Yamuna to attend a school, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued a notice to the Delhi government.

The Wire had first reported the story in March 2019, as the first episode of ‘Sadak Se Sansad’, a journey across India before the general elections, and again eleven months later, in February 2020.

In a statement, the Commission said it has taken “suo-motu cognizance of a media report that Chilla Khadar village in Delhi does not have a school due to which the children have to cross the Yamuna river by boat everyday putting their lives to immense danger to attend a school. It is not easy especially for girl students, as they have to walk an hour to reach the school after riding a boat. Reportedly, if the boat is not available on a particular day, the students have to walk about 2 kms on a non-motorable road.”

It issued a notice to the chief secretary of the Delhi government and sought a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. “The report must include details of the government schools functional in the area mentioned in the news reports,” the statement said.

It observed that the contents of the news report raise serious issue of violation of human rights. “It is indeed surprising that in the National Capital, everyday young students are coming across such a nightmare just to attend school for education, which is their fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India,” the NHRC said.

The Right to Education Act says that primary school children should not be studying in schools more than 1 kilometre away, while upper primary level students should not have to travel more than 3 km for their school.

The NHRC’s statement said, “Reportedly, an officer of the Education Department of Delhi Government has said that they are not sure, if there is a school within the 3 km radius of the area. It is also mentioned in a news report that sometimes, the boat topples then it takes more time for the students to reach their school.”

‘Worst Is Still to Come’: Sizzling Europe Battles Wildfires, Health Risks

Much of continental Europe is contending with a major heat wave that experts say will intensify over the next few days.

Tarragona, Spain/Paris: Wildfires raged across Catalonia and French authorities stepped up restrictions on water use and driving in cities as swathes of western Europe remained in the grip of an intense heatwave.

Temperatures climbed towards 44 degrees Celsius in parts of northern Spain and southern France, driving many people to seek relief in the sea, rivers, lakes, fountains and swimming pools.

Spanish firefighters struggled to douse wildfires across more than 16,000 acres in the northeastern region of Catalonia, and said the affected area could increase as much as fivefold because of the fierce heat and winds.

Helicopters dumped water on the fires, which raged some 80 km inland from the coastal town of Tarragona. There were no reports of casualties, but the regional government said some 45 people had been evacuated from farmhouses in the area.

The wildfires are among the worst Catalonia has seen in 20 years, the regional government said, and residents were warned to stay inside to avoid inhaling smoke.

Trees burn during a forest fire near Maials, west of Tarragona, Spain, June 27, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Albert Gea

In neighbouring France to the north, authorities extended restrictions on vehicles, already imposed in Paris and Lyon, to Marseille and Strasbourg in an effort to curb air pollution.

Paris banned more than half of the cars – generally older, dirtier models – registered in the capital region, which has nearly six million inhabitants, while the heatwave lasts. Several cities reduced speed limits to reduce car emissions.

Also read: Powerful Heat Wave to Hit Northern Europe in the Next Few Days

Some schools postponed summer examinations, and parts of northern France were put on drought alert, with water supplies to businesses, farmers and ordinary residents restricted. Agriculture minister Didier Guillaume announced a ban on the transportation of animals until the heatwave has ended.

Grid operator RTE said French electricity demand on Thursday was close to a summer record seen two years ago, as people turned on fans and coolers to full blast for relief from the scorching temperatures.

“Calls to the emergency services are on the rise nationwide. We are seeing the beginning of a clear impact of the heatwave. For us the worst is still to come,” said Jerome Saloman, head of national public health.

He said four drownings had been recorded in France since the start of the week directly linked to the heatwave as people try to cool themselves. However, the full toll directly linked to the heatwave would only be known in the days or weeks ahead.

People cool off in the fountains at the Andre Citroen park in Paris, June 25, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Charles Platiau

Health minister Agnes Buzyn said four administrative regions in the south had been placed on red alert, the highest crisis level, with 76 others on orange alert.

“This episode of heatwave is unprecedented in France. It is exceptional in its intensity,” she told a news conference.

The red alert would mean school outings and outdoor sport and other festive activities are suspended or postponed. She cautioned joggers and other sport lovers to curb their activities.

There was at least relief for northern Germany on Thursday as temperatures slid to more normal levels for June. In Berlin it was 21 degrees Celsius, down from around 37 on Wednesday.

(Reuters)

Adivasi Children Deprived of Education as Security Forces Camp in Schools in Khunti

Security forces have been camping in nine schools of Jharkhand since June this year when they raided villages to arrest the accused in a gangrape case.

New Delhi: The establishment of security camps inside primary schools and panchayat bhawans in several village of Khunti and Chaibasa districts of Jharkhand has not gone down well with residents and women’s rights activists. Alleging that these camps have adversely affected the education of adivasi children, they have urged the National Human Rights Commission and the state government to relocate them.

Schools shut for over six months, no meetings in panchayat bhawans

The lives of residents of Ghaghra, Khunti, Murhu, Arki and Badgaon villages were greatly impacted when in June this year, the security forces set up camps in nine schools and two panchayat bhawans there. These camps were set up following raids by these forces in the area.

What complicated matters was that rather than vacating the schools and panchayat bhawans after some time, the forces stayed put. Due to this the schools shut down and no meetings could be held in the panchayat bhawans.

Camps came up in violation of SC guidelines

In their petitions to the NHRC, NCST and other institutions earlier, the rights groups and residents complained that establishment of security camps inside primary schools and panchayat bhawans was in contravention of Supreme Court guidelines.

In September 2010, the Supreme Court held in Exploitation of Children in Orphanages in the State of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India & Ors. that “school buildings are not allowed to be occupied by the armed or security forces in future for whatsoever purpose”. Previously, in the ongoing Salwa Judum case the apex court also issued directions to Chhattisgarh government to release schools from the occupation of paramilitary forces.

Also read: A School By the Forest Is Transforming Tribal Lives in Jharkhand’s Latehar

The residents also charged that said due to these camps the right to education of the Adivasi children has been violated. Also, they claimed that they were living under a constant environment of fear and intimidation.

‘Police raided village on the pretext of nabbing gangrape accused’

A fact-finding team of Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) and Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO) earlier this year noted that Ghaghra village was raided by the police on June 26 to arrest three Pathalgarhi leaders falsely implicated in the gang-rape of five adivasi women the preceding fortnight.

The real culprits, they said, were identified by the villagers but remain at large. During the raid, the police cane charged the villagers and drove them back using tear gas and firing. One of the villagers, Birsa Munda, died on the spot after being hit on the head with a lathi.

Central forces arrived the following day, unleashed violence

The following day, the rights groups said, a very large contingent of nearly 1,000 security personnel, drawn from Central Reserve Police Force, Rapid Action Force, Jharkhand Action Force and other units, descended on Ghaghra and seven nearby villages. Considering that Ghaghra itself has a population of barely 300, the group said such a large movement was aimed at intimidating the residents.

Brutal violence followed as men, women and children were beaten, lathi-charged and tear-gassed. Rubber pellets were fired, homes were raided and their belongings were destroyed. Women were mistreated and at least one of them was raped. Another woman was disrobed and a pregnant woman was also verbally abused, physically assaulted, lathi-charged and beaten up due to which she fainted, the rights groups claimed.

Victims petitioned several institutions, only NCST responded

The rights groups said as the security forces continued to occupy the schools and panchayat bhawan, they petitioned several institutions and high offices such as the NHRC, NCST, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, the state Department of Women and Child Welfare, the District Collector and Chief Secretary, Jharkhand. However, barring NCST, no one took any action on these complaints.

Also read: Adivasi Activists in Jharkhand Charged With Sedition Say Intimidation Tactics at Play

In fact, NCST chairperson Nand Kumar Sai during his visit to Ranchi on December 20 urged the state government to vacate the security camps from schools. The NCST delegation, which also comprised vice-chairperson Anusuya Ukil, also met state minister for women and child development Louise Marandi, and sought immediate relocation of security camps.

NHRC, NCPCR urged to act in matter

The WSS has also demanded that the NHRC take immediate cognizance of the nine complaints submitted by the residents of Ghaghra and neighbouring villages and the women’s rights activists.

It has also urged the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights take immediate action in the matter of occupation of schools by security forces and ensure continuation of children’s education in an environment free of intimidation and fear.

In UP’s Chitrakoot, Poor RTE Implementation Leaves School Without Basic Amenities

The Right to Education ensures free and compulsory primary education, but having a comprehensive policy and actually implementing it are two very different things.

Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh: The Right to Education Act 2009 extends education as a fundamental right to all children between the ages of 6-14. In doing so, it also specifies the minimum norms in an elementary school. In order to provide free and compulsory education, a school must have basic facilities in place. In spite of how well-intentioned such a policy measure might be, the sobering reality for a school in Chitrakoot paints a less optimistic picture.

In January 2017, the education ministry had informed the CAG that 1.7 million classrooms had been constructed since the year 2000. Troublingly, the CAG responded with a report establishing that there were 9,00,000 schools with an unfavourable student-teacher ratio as of March 2016.

This situation, however, is far more odious in one particular state – Uttar Pradesh. With the lowest literacy rate in the country – 67.6% – and the largest population, the state is struggling on all fronts. This is especially true for the rural education system, where the RTE is neither followed in letter nor in spirit.

Kakarhuli’s primary school offers a fine illustration of this dismal scenario.

In a small hamlet situated in the district of Chitrakoot, Kakarhuli’s primary school has been barely functional, with little to no basic amenities available: no drinking water, electricity or even toilets. Established 25 years ago, the school enrols 116 students today. In all this time, however, with the state having seen Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and now Adityanath at the helm of the state administration, everyone seems to have forgotten to provide schools with basic amenities.

Also read: The Right to Education is the Responsibility of Every Indian Citizen

To begin with, the school premises still lack a basic boundary wall. This allows animals from nearby fields to enter the playgrounds, exposing students and teachers to considerable risks.

According to Devanand, one of the Gram Rozgar Sevak (GRS) officers appointed under the MGNREGA at the block-level, the forest department is to blame. “They are not letting us plan the boundary-construction work. Initially, there were hardly any people living here, but due to the recent increase in population, the forest department is stopping us from making the boundary”.

The teachers of the primary school tell us how, despite having filed repeated requests – both official and unofficial – to the Block Resource Coordinators (BRC) and village panchayat, no action has been taken.

Holding the unenviable position of headmaster at the Kakarhuli Primary School, Sourabh Kumar spoke in a jaded manner, listing out issues he has little to no control over. “There is one hand pump right outside, but it does not belong to the school. So, the villagers do not let the kids use it. And then there is the issue of electricity. We have tried to hoist the electrical wires over trees, but the animals come and destroy them”, he rued. Referring to the mandatory playgrounds, he added, “They [the villagers] also dirty our grounds in the process”.

Din Dayal Mishra, the Shiksha Mitra, adds, “Since we don’t have our own hand pump, we have to make our students wait in line to get water for any activity. We have to wait for fellow villagers to complete their tasks first and then let kids use the hand pump. We don’t want them to create any problems with our kids over water, so this is a constant thing to monitor. If we had our own hand pump, this wouldn’t have been a problem”.

The school cook, Suman, finds herself in a tough spot every day given the lack of water – it taked her nearly three hours to get the water she needs for cooking. Meals are often late as a result, and at times, foregone completely. While the children lament the midday meal – another essential provision according to government policies – they miss their playtime the most. “We keep getting scolded for going out to play, because everyone fears that there might be cattle trampling,” says Raghuvar.

With children effectively missing out on the most formative years of their education, the promised reality of the right to education still appears to be a distant dream for many in Uttar Pradesh.

Khabar Lahariya is a rural, video-first digital news organisation with an all-women network of reporters in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Civil Societies, Teacher Unions Urge Govt to Withdraw Scrapping of ‘No-Detention’ Policy

In a statement, civil society organisations, teacher unions and academicians have condemned the the Parliament’s decision to pass the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017.

New Delhi: Eight civil society organisations, teacher unions and academicians working in the education sector across 20 states have issued a statement condemning Parliament’s decision to pass the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017. Maintaining that the Bill paves the way to detain children in Classes V and VIII, the 70-odd signatories have contended that such an amendment is proof of the government’s failure to implement the RTE Act and their resolve to punish over 150 million children.

Stating that 90% of schools in India are not fully RTE-compliant even eight years after the Act has been implemented, the signatories have expressed their observations on the no-detention policy.

There is no established cause-effect link between ‘learning levels’ and ‘no detention policy’; research highlights how it is the poor quality of education, lack of infrastructure, teacher vacancies and the presence of untrained teachers that have had an effect on learning outcomes and not just the lack of examinations as argued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

Since the introduction of ‘No Detention’, the annual dropout rate has halved(from 8.61% in 2006-07 to 4.34% in 2014-15).The retention rate has increased by 9% (74.92% in 2008 to 83.73% in 2014-15) and the transition rate (Primary to Upper Primary) has increased by 7%. Of the 20 states which shared their results with the Bhukkal Committee, 13 reported an increase in the pass percentage for Class X exams. The NDP, along with other RTE provisions, has had no negative impact on academic performances. On the contrary, it has helped to retain children in schools and has improved theirlearning by enabling them to complete their elementary education.

The signatories have argued that the Bill has been “introduced on the pretext of improving learning outcomes” and that successive governments have failed to “implement Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in its true spirit, which was expected to provide the tool for teachers to understand difficulties of students and address them in the classrooms.”

Pointing to global evidence on detaining children, the statement says that detention has proven to be detrimental to students’ self-esteem and motivation to continue in school. “After concerted efforts of 15 years, India has achieved the present level of enrolment and was trying to reach gender parity in elementary education. This move risks reversing these gains without improving the quality of education or enhancing learning,” it says.

The signatories invoke government’s own data which shows student detention to be one of the primary reasons for dropping out of school.

According to the National Family Health Survey 4 (2015-2016) data, one of the top six reasons for school dropouts was ‘repeated failure’ with 3.5% of the cases registered at the national level. In the previous NFHS Survey, repeated failure in school was ranked higher than reasons like required-for-care-of sibling,required-for-outside-work for payment in cash or kind and required-for-work-on-farm/family business. Repetition contributes to school dropout. Children from Dalit and Adivasi communities are most likely to be affected since among those who secured less than 30% marks are from Dalit, Adivasi and Other Backward Caste backgrounds.

The signatories have demanded that the Ministry of Human Resource Development withdraw the amendment to Section 16 of the RTE, which violates Supreme Court ruling.

We the undersigned organisations and individuals make a collective appeal to the Rajya Sabha, to not allow this bill to be passed, and send back it to the LokSabha for an informed and detailed debate. It is about the future of millions of children in this country and needs serious attention from our policymakers, and elected representatives. Over 20,000 Indians have urged the government to withdraw the scrapping of the ‘No Detention Policy’.

India Must Focus on Quality Education as a Solution to Sexual Violence

Rather than relying on punitive measures as a quick-fix solution, the government must work on bringing about social transformation, a role that education can play.

The recent wave of sexual violence reported from across the country – against women in general and little girls in particular – is not only disturbing but also thought-provoking. The response of the civil society, media and government towards these deplorable instances has largely been ad hoc and reactionary, both in terms of form and substance. There has been a tendency to discuss sexual violence against women only after a particularly gruesome incident or the reporting of a series of such incidents. After that, the debate slowly fades away.

By completely disregarding the extensive sexual violence perpetrated against women on a daily basis, we obstruct the process of building a narrative around this malaise. As for the substance of the debate, it is always reactionary. The possible ‘solutions’ to the ‘problem’ emerging from the debate are largely confined to: public execution of the culprit, a ‘new tougher law’, better implementation of the existing laws, improved measures for security, encouraging women to speak up against abuse and social transformation – shedding patriarchy and creating a culture of respecting women. While a few of these ‘solutions’ are simply outrageous, others might be effective in varying degrees.

The government, while conveniently and selectively buying people’s arguments, usually comes up with ‘newer’ or ‘tougher laws’ to prosecute sexual offences against women and children. Notwithstanding the evidence that deterrence out of fear of retribution is limited, the provision of punitive measures besides being ‘visible’ and ‘quick action’ is much easier to introduce than a cultural shift or an attitude transformation which might actually offer a lasting solution.

Role of school education

The big question, however, is how to initiate and accomplish this cultural shift and attitude transformation. It is hugely surprising that the role of school education is rarely taken into account while addressing this question. The debate on ensuring quality education these days never goes beyond learning levels, student scores in literacy and numeracy, skill acquisition or competency development and percentage of marks scored.

One might wonder whether it is purely idealistic or outrightly foolish to expect quality education to help society address issues like patriarchy, discrimination against social groups who are perceived vulnerable and, above all, violence. If the answer is yes, then how are we going to achieve cultural transformation or attitude change to form a society which rejects patriarchy, discrimination and violence, particularly, sexual violence against women? If the answer is no, then why is the role of education not being considered as one of the measures to effectively and sustainably address these issues? Why the outcomes for quality education being pushed by the government through its different institutions not refer to the attitudinal change and social transformation with regard to these very serious issues an outcome as well?

Interestingly, India’s National Policy on Education (NPE), 1968 does clearly assign to education the role of social transformation. It states ‘… Education has an acculturating role. It refines sensitivities and perceptions that contribute to national cohesion, a scientific temper and independence of mind and spirit”. (Emphasis added)

In fact, the perspective of Indian academics has been even more lucid much before the NPE. Radha Krishnan (whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teachers Day) for instance, puts in perspective the educational outcome in terms of knowledge, skill and social transformation. He states:

“The aim of education is not the acquisition of information although important, or acquisition of technical skills, though essential in modern society, but the development of that bent of mind, that attitude of reason, that spirit of democracy which will make us responsible citizens”.

Key issues missing in the discourse on quality education

Evidently, government’s agenda for quality education is neither in policy perspective nor does it take into account prevailing social realities giving rise to violence, particularly, sexual violence against women. The short-term outcome-focused approach to quality education that has little regard for critical enablers of quality in terms of content and process i.e. curriculum and pedagogy, conveniently ignores the National Curriculum Framework, NCF (2005).

The NCF underscores the need to view the representation of knowledge in textbooks and other materials from the larger perspective of the challenges facing humanity and the nation. It notes that no subject in the school curriculum can stay aloof from these larger concerns, and therefore the selection of knowledge proposed to be included in each subject area requires careful examination in terms of socio-economic and cultural conditions and goals.

A little less than one-third of our total population is in the schooling stage, spending a significant portion of their time every day on learning alone. Credit: José Morcillo Valenciano/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Despite the NCF being endorsed under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, curricular reforms (which include reforms in; curriculum, textual material, teaching – learning processes and assessment of pupils’ learning) to address the issues of patriarchy, discrimination, intolerance and violence do not find mention in the discourse on quality education.

Obstacles facing quality education

Myopic vision is not the only challenge between us and quality education, poor institutional capacity and a serious shortage of public resource are equally overwhelming obstacles. A major reason for the absence of curricular reforms from the discourse on quality education is government’s complete dependence for public provisioning of school education on schematic interventions like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. These schemes focus at best on medium-term objectives. They have little scope and even lesser funds for interventions to improve curriculum and pedagogy beyond poorly funded, low-quality teacher training.

On the other hand, the institutional capacity for curriculum and pedagogy-related research and development that plays a critical role in curricular reform has either waned or has failed to come up on account of poor planning and perennially meagre public provisioning. The institutional capacity has been significantly inadequate at the national and state levels (NCERT, NCTE and SCERTs) whereas, at the district level, it is almost extinct in most places.

The District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), the sole institution for curriculum and pedagogic research and training at the district level, is barely surviving. Since most districts have several thousand teachers working in hundreds of government schools, therefore, DIETs’ crucial role in addressing the need for academic support, guidance and curricular development is absolutely crucial. Unfortunately, DIETs are in no position to fulfill this huge obligation. Of the 700 odd districts in the country, over a hundred districts have no DIET. Around 600 DIETs which are functional in as many districts have a little less than 50% vacancy in their academic (faculty) positions.

The salary cost against the filled academic posts is shared between Centre and states in 60:40 ratio under the Central government-sponsored Teacher Education (TE) scheme. The outlays (Centre plus states share) for the last many years have remained at around Rs 700 crore, which is barely enough to support the salary component of filled up academic positions. This leaves virtually no funds for research, development and programme work. The TE scheme with well above 90% expenditure over the last several years is a classic evidence refuting government’s claim that public resource allocation for social sector is adequate and the problem lies with expenditure efficiency alone.

Coming back to the issue of sexual violence against women and its sustainable solution, the discourse must inform at least three points of engagement for civil society and polity, including – sexual violence against women cannot be addressed by legal and security measures alone, social transformation through quality education is a more comprehensive and sustainable solution; present discourse on quality education is short-sighted besides being oblivious to prevailing social realities including sexual violence against women, which is out of sync with India’s policy perspective on quality education; and institutional capacity and public resources required to address these issues through quality education including curricular reforms in line with our policies, are highly inadequate.

The big question is whether we as a society sense the need, the urgency and the opportunity to demand through popular mobilisation in an election year a commitment from the political dispensation to address these issues, comprehensively and sustainably. If we could do this, it will be a good first step in a long journey.

The question assumes significance as a little less than one-third of our total population is in the schooling stage, spending a significant portion of their time every day on learning alone. This population, nearly half of it being women, would exercise maximum influence on social and political discourse in the country over the next half a century at least – good enough a future, quality education must envision and plan for.

Asadullah is with Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), New Delhi. His work has focused on issues of school education for more than 15 years. He can be reached at asadullah@cbgaindia.org. Views expressed are personal.

Oversight During RTE Implementation in Gujarat Has Bred Feelings of Caste Antagonism

A large number of economically disadvantaged people appear to have missed a chance to benefit from a provision in the Right to Education policy.

Representative image. Credit: José Morcillo Valenciano/ Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The Right to Education Resource Centre at IIM, Ahmedabad has since 2014-15 been involved in on-ground awareness programmes, disseminating information related to the provision in section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act (RTE). This section mandates 25% reservation in all private unaided schools for children from socially and economically disadvantaged groups.

In the absence of any official government helpline, for over three months – from November to February – we received calls from hundreds of people who mistook us for a government helpline. Before the start of the application process callers were seeking basic information about the policy, which we were able to provide.

On February 21, following months of anticipation, the application process was finally rolled out. This year, for the first time, the Gujarat government has made the application process for admission under section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act available online. This is a positive move towards greater transparency. However, it was done with little warning, resulting in unprecedented problems for applicants who found themselves grappling with an unfamiliar process.

Among the many complaints that our callers made, a major and recurring one was regarding the exclusion of people from the general caste category that were not BPL card holders.

According to the Gujarat government rules for implementing the RTE section 12(1)(c), people in the following categories can seek admissions to private schools under the Act:

Children classified as SC/ST whose family income is below Rs 2 lakh a year.
Children classified as OBC with family incomes below Rs 1 lakh a year.
Children falling under the general category whose families have a BPL card.

Over the last three years, however, the Gujarat government had accepted forms for children belonging to the general category whose families did not have BPL cards but whose annual income was less than Rs 68,000 for urban households and less than Rs 47,000 for rural households.

The system of issuing BPL cards has been criticised for its inability to accurately reflect disadvantage. Moreover, it allows for the possibility of truly disadvantaged people not being able to make genuine documents, while those who are relatively more well off might be able to get a BPL card more easily. As a result, it is not always the most disadvantaged population that benefits from welfare schemes.

Considering these issues – over the measurement and issuing of BPL cards – the application of an income limit made a wider target group eligible under the policy in previous years.

Unsurprisingly, the omission of this category in the application cycle this year came as a rude shock to many who were turned away from multiple receiving centres where completed forms were submitted for not having a BPL card. Following this, our callers took to reprimanding us over the phone in various degrees of distress.

A conversation with an inconsolable mother of two went like this:

She complained about her application form being rejected at the centre because she didn’t have a BPL card. We explained that only applicants from general category with BPL cards were eligible to apply. She replied that last year several of her friends who fell within the same category had made applications for their children and a few had been admitted. We reiterated that the category was eligible last year, but had been removed this year, to which her reply in a tone of resignation was, “So the government only gives benefits to them? What about us? We also don’t have enough money, we also need help.”

This conversation was almost a template for more than 50 other conversations we had with callers over a ten-day period after the application process began. Many had given up days of waged work to get their documents prepared. Most would have spent precious time and money to get their forms ready for submission only to find their efforts and resources wasted.

What was heartbreaking, however, was how quickly the conversations went from confusion about being rejected, to anger at being excluded – invariably articulated as a clear ‘us vs them’ demarcation based on the fact that people from other caste categories were eligible to apply even without proof of economic disadvantage.

There is a general correlation between deprivation and caste, and this informs the state’s affirmative action policies. Economically vulnerable groups that are excluded from these policies because of caste do feel they are treated unfairly. Government’s lack of clarity in policy implementation and misinformation in its dissemination, especially with regards to policies designed for all groups, aggravates this feeling.

Halfway through the process, with just ten days to go, the government once again changed its mind. It issued another circular that made children from general category with family incomes lower than Rs 68,000 (urban) and Rs 47,000 (rural) eligible for admission. This came as good news for some who were yet to submit an application, but for most of those who had already been told they could not apply, it came too late. What remains unclear is whether this change was made solely due to pressure on government officials by applicants and organisations like ours rather than the realisation of the benefits of the previous guidelines.

From the start of the application process there was no functional and responsive government helpline or authority that could be accessed easily by applicants. A move to a brand new online application process surely warranted a means to address issues faced by applicants, at least in the initial days. Secondly, the government made no effort to widely disseminate the change in guidelines that made people from general category without BPL cards eligible again. As individuals trying to help these applicants gain access to their rights by law, we watched helplessly as emotions exacerbating antagonism between caste groups emerged from a situation that could have very easily been avoided.

The cost of this style of policy implementation, which is the result of a clerical error or lack of attention, is huge. When failure begets failure, implementation of welfare schemes must be informed by the successes and issues associated with defining the target population for these schemes.

Karan Singhal and Nisha Vernekar work as research associates at IIM, Ahmedabad.