S CHOOL E DUCATION
I NDIA
IN
C ENTRE F OR C IVIL S OCIETY
I: Background
INDIA
Some Basic Facts
• Area
:
3.2 million sq kms
• Population (2001) :
1.03 billion (16% of world’s
population).
• Literacy (2001)
64.8 percent
:
Male
: 75.03
Female
: 53.07
F ORM O F G OVERNMENT

Constitutional Democratic Republic

Free and fair elections at regular intervals for
Central and State legislatures and local
bodies

Constitutionally guaranteed Fundamental
Rights, including Freedom of the Press

Central and State Governments have
Constitutionally defined jurisdictions

Education, a Concurrent responsibility
S TATES & L ANGUAGES

Administrative Setup—
Union of 28 States
and 7 Union
Territories

Districts
600

Rural Habitations
1.23 million

Constitutionally
recognised languages
22
D IVERSITY OF C ANVAS

Vast developmental disparities between
States and within States

Kerala close to China and Sri Lanka in
developmental indices; Bihar, UP closer
to Nepal and Bhutan

In general, southern and western States
better developed

Efficient implementation of educational
plans related to status of development
C HALLENGES IN E DUCATION





According to latest estimates, some 3.5 million
elementary school children still not in school
Wide disparities in the educational status of different
regions
Out of school children are from socially marginalised
groups, especially girls, working children, children of
very poor families, and children in difficult
circumstances
Drop out rates at elementary level as high as 51
percent; rising to 62 percent at secondary level
47 percent children in Class 5 are unable to read a
Class 2 text
II: The Policy Framework
P OLICY F RAMEWORK

Constitution of India: Directive Principles

National Policy on Education (1986), as revised in
1992

73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992)
transferring subjects, including education, to rural and
urban local bodies

86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) making free
and compulsory elementary education a Fundamental
Right

Greater focus on EFA, post Jomtien, resulting in higher
allocation of resources

EFA National Plan of Action drawn up in 2003
III: Judicial and Other
Developments
T HE F IRST S IGNIFICANT
J UDICIAL I NTERVENTION

Mohini Jain vs State of Karnataka, SC, 1992

Right to education concomitant to Fundamental
Rights

Every citizen has a right to education under the
Constitution

The act of recognition of private institutions in
itself creates an instrument of State that can be
used to deliver the obligations of the State
T HE S ECOND S IGNIFICANT
J UDICIAL I NTERVENTION

J P Unnikrishnan vs State of Andhra
Pradesh, SC 1993

Reviewed the decisions in Mohini Jain vs
State of Karnataka

Held that the right to education is implicit
and flows from the right to life guaranteed
under Art 21

Every child has a right to free education until
he completes the age of 14 years; thereafter
his right is circumscribed by the economic
capacity of the State
T HE 1990 S

A period of liberalisation and globalisation

Adoption of New Economic Policy

Borrowing from IMF and World Bank coupled with a Structural
Adjustment Programme



Implicit withdrawal from the social sector, with a greater role for private
entities
International compulsions

EFA, Jomtien 1990

Ratification of UN CRC, 1992

Obligation to report on progress from time to time
Acceptance, for the first time ever, of external assistance in education
for DPEP and others
C IVIL S OCIETY
O RGANISATIONS

Number of very active NGOs around this time

Pratham

MV Foundation

Global Campaign for Education (international)

NAFRE

Private sector initiatives (CSR related)

Ambani-Birla Report on Education Reform

Elementary education must entirely be a State responsibility

Other Public Interest Litigations

165th report of the Law Commission
IV: Programmes and Initiatives
I NDIAN A GENCIES IN E DUCATION

ECCE & Gender Equality –
Ministry of
Women &
Child Development

Elementary Education
Dept of
School
Education

Adult Education
& Literacy

Youth and Adolescents –
Ministry of Sports
& Youth Affairs
S CHOOL I NITIATIVES : ECCE

Main vehicle Integrated Child
Development Services Scheme (ICDS),
covering 54 million children in the 0-6
year age group

Provides a mix of 6 services:
supplementary nutrition, immunisation,
health check up, referral services, pre
school education and nutrition and
health education

USD 2 billion allocated in Budget 2009-10
S CHOOL I NITIATIVES : DPEP

Preceded by the Bihar Education Project (UNICEF), Lok
Jumbish (SIDA), Shiksha Karmi Project (SIDA), UP Basic
Education Project

Launched in 1994 to universalise access and
retention, to improve learning achievements and to
reduce social gaps

District-based, with a focus on community
involvement, combined with institutional capacity
improvement

At its peak, in 273 districts in 18 States

Among other achievements (infrastructure, etc),
succeeded in raising awareness about the importance
of education
S CHOOL I NITIATIVES : SSA

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), national flagship
programme for UEE, launched in 2001

Covers 210 million children, 1 million schools and
nearly 4 million teachers

Annual expenditure on the programme
approximately USD 3.5 billion; overall
expenditure on elementary education USD 25
billion

180,000 new school buildings, 700,000 additional
classrooms, 230,000 new toilets and 170,000
drinking water facilities provided so far
SSA G OALS

All children in school by 2005

Bridging gender and social gaps:

Primary
2007

Elementary
2010

Universal retention by 2010

Focus on satisfactory quality with emphasis on
education for life
S CHOOL I NITIATIVES : MDM

Launched in 1995 to provide a meal to all
primary school children

World’s largest school feeding
programme, covering 112 million children
in 950,000 schools

Has resulted in improving retention,
reducing drop out rates and improving
nutritional status of children

2009-10 budget outlay USD 2 billion
S CHOOL I NITIATIVES : S ECONDARY
E DUCATION

93 million children estimated to be in the 14-18 year
age group

Only 33 million enrolled in secondary institutions

Two thirds out of school

Current spending on secondary education USD 1
billion per annum

Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, a programme for
universalising access to secondary education
launched in 2008
P ROGRAMMES

FOR
G IRLS
Special schemes targeted at girls, apart from focus on
girls in general schemes

Kasturba Gandhi Ballika Vidyalaya (KGBV)

National Programme for the Education of Girls at
the Elementary Level (NPEGEL)

Mahila Samakhya

Removal of gender (and other) disparities at the primary
levels (I-V) by 2007, and elementary (I-VIII) level by 2010

Comprehensive plan for adolescents, especially girls, in
the Tenth Five Year Plan

According to UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report 2006,
India achieved gender parity at elementary level in 2005
Y OUTH
AND
A DOLESCENTS

Population – approx 230 million (22.8% of total)

Development of this group falls under the purview of several
Ministries

Comprehensive National Youth Policy adopted in 2003

Life skill education among adolescents supported by WHO and
UNFPA, especially for girls

Approximately 8 million rural youth covered through Nehru Yuva
Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) for social development, including the Red
Ribbon Express Initiative for HIV/AIDS awareness

National Service Scheme also targets youth in colleges and schools
for constructive social programmes

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) provides opportunities
of Distance Education to those who are unable to continue with
formal education
A DULT E DUCATION

National Literacy Mission to provide functional literacy to all
adults

To achieve sustainable threshold literacy (75%) by 2007

597 districts covered under AE programmes; 485 under PLP and 328
under CE

Recently recast as Saakshar Bharat to focus on adults above 15
years, with a special focus on female literacy

Vocational education and skill development through 157 Jan
Shikshan Sansthans

Absolute number of illiterates declined by 25 million between 19912001

Gender gap reduced from 24.9% in 1991 to 21.6% in 2001
N EW I NITIATIVES

Education Cess @ 2% imposed on all Central taxes to
augment resources for EFA

Estimated yield in 2009-10: US $ 4 billion

Increased to 3% with effect from 2006 to provide for
secondary education

Legislation detailing elementary education as a
Fundamental Right recently notified

ICDS universalised to cover all habitations

Mid-day Meal scheme expanded to cover upper primary
classes

Scheme for universal access to secondary education being
launched
V: The Right to Education
T HE I NDIAN C ONSTITUTION

Superior or supreme law of the land, reflecting
the relationship of the State with its citizens

Includes Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles of State Policy

Fundamental Rights are enforceable, justiciable

Directive Principles non-binding, but meant to
guide the State

Together known as the “conscience of the
Constitution” (K C Wheare, Modern
Constitutions)
W HY A R IGHT TO
E DUCATION ?

Right to Education linked to a fundamental debate at the
time of writing the Constitution

Related to governance itself, whether to include
universal adult franchise or not


Opponents argued that providing a right to vote to all, when
most were illiterate, would negate democracy
Art 45 introduced as a compromise

“The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten
years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free
and compulsory education for all children until they complete
the age of fourteen years” (emphasis added)

Only Directive Principle with a time frame, indicating that our
leaders were not prepared to give more than ten years to
establish democracy on the bedrock of universal education
H OWEVER …

The time frame of ten years was never respected

Government and the bureaucracy concluded that
adequate financial resources were not available

Number of illiterates in the country rose from
294.2 million in 1951, to 325.5 million in 1961
T HE C ONSTITUTION (86 TH
A MENDMENT ) A CT, 2002
Adds a new Fundamental Right (“Right to Education”) by inserting
Article 21A:
“The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all
children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State
may, by law, determine.”

Changes Article 45 (in the Directive Principles) to:
“The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care
and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.”

Adds the following (eleventh) Fundamental Duty in Article 51A:
(It shall be the duty of every citizen of India…)
“(k) who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for
education to his child or as the case may be, ward between the age of six
and fourteen years.”

B ASIC C ONCEPTS
“Compulsory Education” defined as the
obligation of the State to take all necessary steps
to ensure that every child participates in, and
completes Elementary Education

“Free Education” defined as freedom from
liability to (i) pay any fee to the school, and (ii)
incur such other prescribed expenses as may be
likely to prevent the child from participating in and
completing Elementary Education

C HILD ’ S R IGHT TO E DUCATION

Spelt out as “right to free and
compulsory education of equitable
quality” – in turn, elaborated as the right
to participate in full-time free and
compulsory elementary education in a
neighbourhood school, which fulfils
prescribed norms regarding
infrastructure, staffing,curriculum, etc

Suitable provisions for non-enrolled
children to enable them to join age
appropriate grades
R ESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
S TATE

Responsibilities at various levels (Centre,
State, local authority) spelt out

State to make available a neighbourhood
school, which fulfils prescribed norms, for
every child within three years

Regular monitoring and taking all
necessary steps including removal of all
barriers (social, economic, academic,
physical, etc), so that every child
completes Elementary Education
Thank you
Questions/comments:
amit.kaushik@pratham.org