The historic Right to Education law, providing free and compulsory schooling to children in the 6-14 year age bracket, came into force with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the states to join in this national effort with full resolve and determination. One should laud the Central government for taking on this momentous task of ensuring that every child in India has the right and equal opportunity to be in school. The Right to Education programme is going to be one of the largest public service exercises in the world. It is no doubt a noble venture. At another level, it will be of interest to know as to how the RTE will impact on the most vulnerable section of our society i.e. those who live in abject poverty. As rightly pointed out, children who have either dropped out from schools or have never been to any educational institution will be now enrolled in schools as education will be free. However, there could be those children who may be compelled to continue working to earn their living. For many people living in poverty, education could at best offer a ray of hope and the more immediate need of food and shelter could push children into work i.e. to earn and take care of their hunger. It is therefore not surprising to learn that out of nearly 22 crore children in the 6—14 year age group, 4.6 per cent of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are out of school. So will the poor continue to shun schools? It will be interesting to see what actually happens.
In such a big government programme, experience will tell us that countless challenges will be faced as the new law comes into force. One of the most serious concerns is the way the money pouring into the programme will be managed. In terms of spending, the RTE may easily eclipse that of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). And we all know how the latter has faced problems, especially the massive corruption taking place in the name of development. Proper checks and balances must be there to ensure that the funds are not diverted or siphoned off. The RTE Act may have been passed by Parliament yet as rightly mentioned by the Prime Minister it is the State governments and authorities at district and village levels who will have to implement the programme. The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the statute. As per the Central government’s estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementation of the Act. All this will require proper use of the allocated resources.
Further, providing quality education to every child in India is easier said than done. First there is the huge requirement of teachers. For a State like Nagaland, this may be good news as there will be opportunity for employment. However with the School Education Department at its lowest ebb in terms of its functioning and credibility, it will be an equally challenging task to recruit thousands of teachers in a transparent and fair manner. Likewise, basic infrastructure including classrooms and library in every school will have to be in place very quickly. Given the present depilating state of our classrooms and other school infrastructure, it will not be easy for the Nagaland government to build and maintain our schools leave alone provide quality education to more and more children. At the end therefore, whatever funds is made available, the State government will have to ensure that this is being used for its stated objective. Implementing the RTE Act in Nagaland will definitely need a lot of honest effort.
In such a big government programme, experience will tell us that countless challenges will be faced as the new law comes into force. One of the most serious concerns is the way the money pouring into the programme will be managed. In terms of spending, the RTE may easily eclipse that of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). And we all know how the latter has faced problems, especially the massive corruption taking place in the name of development. Proper checks and balances must be there to ensure that the funds are not diverted or siphoned off. The RTE Act may have been passed by Parliament yet as rightly mentioned by the Prime Minister it is the State governments and authorities at district and village levels who will have to implement the programme. The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the statute. As per the Central government’s estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementation of the Act. All this will require proper use of the allocated resources.
Further, providing quality education to every child in India is easier said than done. First there is the huge requirement of teachers. For a State like Nagaland, this may be good news as there will be opportunity for employment. However with the School Education Department at its lowest ebb in terms of its functioning and credibility, it will be an equally challenging task to recruit thousands of teachers in a transparent and fair manner. Likewise, basic infrastructure including classrooms and library in every school will have to be in place very quickly. Given the present depilating state of our classrooms and other school infrastructure, it will not be easy for the Nagaland government to build and maintain our schools leave alone provide quality education to more and more children. At the end therefore, whatever funds is made available, the State government will have to ensure that this is being used for its stated objective. Implementing the RTE Act in Nagaland will definitely need a lot of honest effort.
