11-24-2007, 01:31 AM
Govt may renege on Right to Education promise
Santanu Banerjee | New Delhi
High-level HRD meeting advises Govt not to fix timeframe
The Right to Education Bill -- one of the key planks of the ruling UPA's Common Minimum Programme -- may prove to be a non-starter.
The Government has developed cold feet in pushing the legislation because it would shift the entire financial burden for ensuring free and compulsory education on the Centre, highly placed sources said.
"With the State Governments dithering on sharing the financial burden, the Bill mooted in 2005 has suffered a setback," said an official.
The issue cropped up during a recent high-level meeting in the HRD Ministry last week.
The consensus at the meeting was that "without concomitant commitment by the States" it would not be possible for the Centre to go ahead with the implementation of the UPA's flagship scheme.
The assessment document prepared by the HRD during the meeting said: "One reason for the reluctance to enact the Central legislation is the apprehension that it may shift the major responsibility for ensuring free and compulsory education on the Centre, without concomitant commitment by the States."
The document says that "this apprehension stems from the estimation of financial resources prepared by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) that the Kapil Sibal Committee had relied on".
The committee relied on the estimation of funds needed over a six-year period from 2006-07 to 2011-12.
It was presented with four alternative scenarios -- the lowest estimated at Rs 3,21,196 crore and the highest at Rs 4,36,459 crores.
The HRD Ministry's note said the State Governments were unwilling to increase their share to Sarva Siksha Abhyjan (SSA).
The Centre is sharing 75 per cent of the burden on SSA. It was only after prolonged discussions that the Planning Commission could fix the Centre-State share at 65:35.
The Ministry officials contended that the report of the Kapil Sibal Committee need to be revised as the Census of India had projected a reverse demographic trend for the child population in 6-13 age group, official sources confirmed.
"The revised population projections have significant implications for the financial estimates under the Central Legislation for Right to Education,'" the document said.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that before pushing the legislation, the Government should take into account the funds already allocated for primary and secondary education since 2005-06 -- especially under several ongoing schemes like, SSA.
The meeting also raised the issue of new schools opened at the primary and upper primary levels and appointment of teachers during 2006-07.
Once the Right to Education Bill comes into force, all these ongoing schemes would have to be merged.
The meeting concluded that it would be realistic to increase the time-frame of the legislation's implementation and revise the estimates before the Centre pushes it in Parliament.
Santanu Banerjee | New Delhi
High-level HRD meeting advises Govt not to fix timeframe
The Right to Education Bill -- one of the key planks of the ruling UPA's Common Minimum Programme -- may prove to be a non-starter.
The Government has developed cold feet in pushing the legislation because it would shift the entire financial burden for ensuring free and compulsory education on the Centre, highly placed sources said.
"With the State Governments dithering on sharing the financial burden, the Bill mooted in 2005 has suffered a setback," said an official.
The issue cropped up during a recent high-level meeting in the HRD Ministry last week.
The consensus at the meeting was that "without concomitant commitment by the States" it would not be possible for the Centre to go ahead with the implementation of the UPA's flagship scheme.
The assessment document prepared by the HRD during the meeting said: "One reason for the reluctance to enact the Central legislation is the apprehension that it may shift the major responsibility for ensuring free and compulsory education on the Centre, without concomitant commitment by the States."
The document says that "this apprehension stems from the estimation of financial resources prepared by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) that the Kapil Sibal Committee had relied on".
The committee relied on the estimation of funds needed over a six-year period from 2006-07 to 2011-12.
It was presented with four alternative scenarios -- the lowest estimated at Rs 3,21,196 crore and the highest at Rs 4,36,459 crores.
The HRD Ministry's note said the State Governments were unwilling to increase their share to Sarva Siksha Abhyjan (SSA).
The Centre is sharing 75 per cent of the burden on SSA. It was only after prolonged discussions that the Planning Commission could fix the Centre-State share at 65:35.
The Ministry officials contended that the report of the Kapil Sibal Committee need to be revised as the Census of India had projected a reverse demographic trend for the child population in 6-13 age group, official sources confirmed.
"The revised population projections have significant implications for the financial estimates under the Central Legislation for Right to Education,'" the document said.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that before pushing the legislation, the Government should take into account the funds already allocated for primary and secondary education since 2005-06 -- especially under several ongoing schemes like, SSA.
The meeting also raised the issue of new schools opened at the primary and upper primary levels and appointment of teachers during 2006-07.
Once the Right to Education Bill comes into force, all these ongoing schemes would have to be merged.
The meeting concluded that it would be realistic to increase the time-frame of the legislation's implementation and revise the estimates before the Centre pushes it in Parliament.