A neglected area of reservation

Moa Jamir

Nagas are highly sensitive to the issue of reservation. The most topical being the demand for increasing the percentage of reservation for persons belonging to a certain region of the state. The much-needed women’s participation in formal decision making body via reservation in Urban Local Bodies has also been a perennial issue. Both are hugely debated. However, a reservation issue, considered a big step towards achieving social justice and inclusivity, unfortunately, has not received the required attention it deserves so far in Nagaland. This is the neglect of the reservation for children of weaker section and disadvantaged in pursuit of education mandated under the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009.

The issue is less contentious, ergo, would have been ‘more achievable’ if the concerned stakeholders as well as those at the helms of the affairs, were proactive and serious about implementing the same. Were the negligence and non-implementation due to unawareness or by design or both? The 124th Report of the Public Account Committee (PAC) of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly presented to the House on February 15 offers some answers.

The report while lauding many initiatives undertaken by the Department of School Education (DoSE) also came down heavily on the department in some areas, particularly on the implementation of certain policies mandated by the RTE Act 2009. The PAC was examining the audit findings of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India ‘Audit Report on Social, Economic, Revenue and General Sectors’ for the year 2015-2016.

One key shortcoming deserving urgent attention is the implementation of 25% reservation for weaker and disadvantaged children as stipulated by the RTE Act 2009 and affirmed by a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment on April 12, 2012.  

The relevant provision of the RTE Act 2009 made it mandatory for all schools - government and private- (except for private, unaided minority schools) to reserve 25% of their seats for children belonging to the “weaker section and disadvantaged group.” RTE is now incorporated in the Constitution of India under Article 21A as a fundamental right.

The CAG report had then noted that while provisions were made for such reservation in Nagaland, there were no specific provisions in the State Rule regarding such reservation apart from reimbursement of expenditure. While admitting that specific provisions concerning 25% reservation were not framed, though the Department’s executive committee had approved the process and notified the same on November 24, 2016, the DoSE informed the PAC that a notification was issued after the matter was raised by the CAG Audit. It was further implied from the DoSE’s reply to the PAC that private schools were not complying with directives issued by the government. The negligence from both ends is perpetuating the existing status quo.

Accordingly, the PAC was caustic in observation deriding the Department for “not acting with due sense of responsibility towards an important judgment made by the Supreme Court.” As noted by the Committee, this is crucial as “more than 50% of eligible children are enrolled in private schools.” As reported by this newspaper in August last year citing UDISE+ 2018-19 (provisional) from the Union Ministry of School Dashboard, 745 private schools in Nagaland were serving 2.38 lakh while 2007 government schools were catering to 1.38 lakh denoting a significant preference for the former.

“Take suitable steps to ensure that all private schools adhere to the reservation norms,” the Committee stated in its recommendation while giving the DoSE two months to furnish an ‘Action Taken Report’ from the date of the presentation of its report to the NLA (February 15).

Other shortcomings under RTE were observed, but the reservation to ensure inclusivity and access to quality education is most crucial. As Nagaland prepares to start a new academic session after a long gap, the issue of the reservation for the marginalised must receive its deserved attention.  

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