People's Democracy

UPA Govt Subverting Right To Education Bill
SFI Threatens Agitation

The following is the text of the statement of the SFI released at a press conference addressed by its general secretary K K Ragesh on August 11, 2006 in New Delhi. SFI joint secretary, P K Biju and Delhi state secretary, Albeena Shakil were also present at the press meet.

THE Students’ Federation of India strongly condemns the recent move by the UPA government to subvert the Right to Education Bill by refusing to enact central legislation on the matter. Even though the 86th Constitution Amendment, which made free and compulsory education a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6-14 years was passed in 2002, the central government has failed to enact central legislation to implement the Constitutional mandate. It is to be noted that a draft of the Right to Education Bill in keeping with the 86th Constitution Amendment was prepared in 2003 itself. 

The UPA government in its National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) promised to universalise access to quality basic education. It also promised ‘to raise public spending in education to at least 6 per cent of GDP with at least half this amount being spent on primary and secondary sectors’. Even after the passage of two years since the UPA government has come to power this crucial commitment made in the NCMP has remained unfulfilled. It is a matter of grave concern that the UPA government has taken the decision of not enacting a central legislation on Right to Education because of opposition from the finance ministry and the planning commission citing lack of resources to implement it. SFI considers this as a brazen violation of the NCMP by the UPA government.

A model Right to Education Bill has been formulated and sent to the state governments by the HRD ministry for enacting legislation at the state level. It has been proposed by the centre that cost sharing on implementing the legislation would be contingent upon the state governments’ accepting the model Bill in toto. Burdening the state governments in this manner, which already bear the lion’s share of expenditure on education in the country, is totally unjustified and is a sure recipe for subverting the right to education. SFI appeals to all the state governments to reject this arbitrary and undemocratic move.

The draft of the Right to Education Bill 2005 itself had invited severe criticisms from many quarters, for the dilution of several provisions. The model Right to Education Bill 2006 now being proposed by the centre has further diluted many of the crucial provisions made in the 2005 draft bill. Most importantly, the provision in the draft bill of reserving at least 25 per cent free seats for poor children in private schools has been done away with. The way the UPA government has succumbed to the pressures from the private school managements on this issue is most shameful. The entire section on the central government’s responsibility in the draft bill, including the provision of financial assistance to the states, has also been deleted. The provision for constituting the National Commission for Elementary Education contained in the draft bill, meant to monitor the implementation of the Act, has been removed too. This shows that the UPA government is trying to wash its hands off from the Constitutional obligation of ensuring the right to education. Additionally, the government is making its continuing assistance to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, conditional upon the state governments’ acceptance of the new proposed Bill in toto. It has been argued by the central government that if the state governments do not accept the new bill it will reduce the 75:25 ratio of expenditure on the Sarva Shaiksha Abhiyan to a 50:50 ratio.

SFI registers its strong protest against this anti-student and anti-poor move of the UPA government and calls upon its units across the country to organise protest actions. SFI will unite broad sections of the student community and agitate on the issue in the days to come, till the UPA government withdraws the model bill for the state governments and enacts a central legislation to ensure the right to education.