Free Market and Right to Education cannot go together

An Appeal, A Call for Action
Free Market and Right to Education cannot go together
Come forward to struggle for Free, Equitable Quality Education to All Children of India
Sunil
India has got a new enthusiastic Human Resource Development minister, full of new ideas। In his enthusiasm, he did not care even to consult the states, although education is still a subject in the concurrent list of our constitution. His program for 100 days includes several steps: Getting through the pending Right to Education Bill, to promote Public-Private Partnership in education, to permit foreign educational institutions, to make 10th board examination optional, to replace examination marks with grades, to conduct an all India examination for entry into the colleges, to provide an interest subsidy in bank loans for professional courses for weaker sections, etc. The government may also accept the main recommendation of the Yashpal committee on higher education, that is, to replace, UGC, AITEC, MCI etc. with a single, independent ‘National Commission for Higher Education & Research’ on the pattern of Election Commission of India.

Some of these steps may be good and well-intentioned. But others are dangerous and need a debate at national level. Mr. Kapil Sibal gives the impression the education system and thus further take away the nation from the long cherished goal of ‘education for all’. He wants to accelerate the ongoing process of government’s withdrawal from the responsibility of providing education, health, drinking water, etc. to all citizens of India.
Farce of Right to Education
‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill’ is pending in the parliament for a long time. But in its present form, it takes away the right to education, rather than guaranteeing it. The Bill has no provision for ban on growing privatization and commercialization of education. The education market in India is growing day-by-day. Educational institutions have turned into shops of various brands, standards, and categories. One can find a school according to one’s economic status. In this process the government schools have been so neglected, deliberately deprived and allowed to deteriorate that now only the poorest parents send their children to them. That has further increased their isolation and marginalization. No one in the power hierarchy has any stakes in their upkeep and proper management. This is a vicious circle and the present Bill strengthens it, rather than breaking it.
Under the guidance of the World Bank and along with its funded projects such as DPEP and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the central and state governments have diluted the norms and deprived the government schools of even minimum requirements. First of all, they started literacy mission, non-formal education and education guarantee schools. It was a clever way of abdicating from their constitutional responsibility of providing school education to all children of the country. Then, they stopped appointment of proper, permanent and trained teachers and started replacing them with para-teachers who are temporary, untrained, under-qualified and underpaid. At the same time, multi-grade teaching was introduced as a concept. It meant that there will be schools with only two or three teachers where one teacher will teach two, three, four or five classes at one time. Ordinary poor children were thought not to deserve even one properly trained teacher for one class. The Bill also does not ban the practice of deploying govt. teachers for non-teaching duties, which meant even higher absence and lack of teachers in government schools. Since private teachers are not deployed for such duties, it meant further discrimination against poor children, which are supposed to compete with affluent private school children.
Many of us, including those sitting in the government, have assumed that the government school system cannot be reformed and rejuvenated. But, if the goal is ‘education for all’, it can never be achieved through private schools because of the simple fact that a huge part of our population cannot afford to pay their fees. Privatisation of education will only widen the gap between haves and have-nots and will deprive crores of children of proper quality education. There is no other way than the central and state governments to come forward and take up the responsibility. But, rather than taking up this challenge and improving and strengthening government education system, they have done the opposite. Of course, the number of schools has gone up and the gross enrolment is also claimed to have reached in the range of 90 to 95 per cent. But, because of this mismanagement, deprivation, low quality-improper-boring education, maltreatment and poverty, there is a high drop-out rate. Hardly half of the children are able to reach 8th class. Therefore, any talk of right to education must be accompanied by sincere attempts to make the government education system meaningful, complete with all facilities, well funded and properly managed. If a government is doing just the opposite and then talks about right to education, it is nothing but a farce.
Common School System is the Only Option:
For providing education to all, it is necessary that a common school system based on neighborhood schooling must be adopted by enacting a law. It means that all children belonging to a neighborhood (a village or an urban neighborhood) will compulsorily study in one single school only. No fees will be charged and all necessary facilities will be provided. This will be the responsibility of the government and all expenditures will be borne by it. Generally these schools will be run by the government, but a few private schools run for charitable purposes (and not profiteering) may be a part of it. When all children of a locality, irrespective of class, caste, religion or gender, will study in a common school, they will be the center of attention. Those in power cannot afford to neglect them and their management and quality will automatically improve. There is no other way of educating all the children of India. Developed rich countries of the world have more or less adopted some kind of common school system, and only through this, they could educate their population. A Right to Education Bill without a provision of common school system has no meaning.
There are other serious lapses in the Bill. It provides for education to children of age 6 to 14 (class 1 to 8) only. That means that the majority of children will have no right to education beyond class 8. Pre-primary education is also important. The Bill presumes that only rich privileged ones have the right of going to KG 1, KG2, etc. The Bill in fact legitimizes the discrimination among the children from the very beginning.
The Bill provides for 25% seats to be reserved in private schools for poor children. Their tuition fees will be paid by the government. But in private schools, there are many other charges and expenditures (books, uniforms etc.) Will the poor families be able to afford them? And will this solve the problem of education of poor children? At present there are around 19 crore children of school-going age in the country. Around 4 crores are studying in private schools. Even if it is assumed that they admit an additional 1 crore children from poor families, what will happen to the remaining 14 crore children? They will be further neglected and deprived. Similarly, when the government opens Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kasturba Vidayalayas for Girls, Schools of Excellence or it now intends to start Model schools for poor meritorious students, the rest of the poor children in large numbers get further neglected. In such a situation, it becomes hypocrisy to talk of right to education for every child of the country.
Free Trade of Education
Actually, the government of India seems to be committed to free trade in education and marching ahead in that direction. Public-private partnership (PPP) in education will mean in practice that the precious prime land of old government educational institutions in towns and metropolitan cities will be grabbed by
private parties for their own benefit. Or, under the new Model School scheme, the private firms will profit with the help of public money. There has been a flood of bogus, unrecognized and substandard private schools, colleges and universities in the last few years, which have deceived and looted ordinary people. Some of the private universities were opened in two-three rooms. Many institutions have been given the status of deemed university. A huge market for coaching and tuition classes has developed. Some of the coaching institutes are earning crores. They give full-page advertisements in national dailies, which otherwise only automobile and mobile phone MNCs can afford. Day by day, education is becoming expensive. It has become very difficult for ordinary parents to educate their children and prepare them for competition. Doors are shut for poor children.
The solution offered for this problem is education loans from banks for higher studies. Mr. Sibal has in fact announced that the government will provide interest subsidy for poor students. But banks do not provide loans for coaching and school education. It is also not easy for ordinary and poor students to get these loans. A few years ago, the case of a Dalit girl Rajani in Kerala was in the news. She got a seat in an engineering college, but could not get a bank loan and finally she committed suicide. In fact, frustration and suicides of youth will increase with the growth of market of education. Market entertains only those who have money and favors those who have more money. Poor and penniless have no place in the market. Therefore, right to education for every child and promotion of market of education are contradictory to each other. Both cannot go together.
But, blinded by the neo /liberal ideology, the government of India refuses to see this contradiction. Mr Kapil Sibal is concerned at the growing tension of examinations in the children. But at the same time, he has proposed an all India entrance examination of admission into colleges, which will work as a barrier for ordinary students. It will also further fuel the growth of coaching industry and increase the competition, fear, tension and frustration among the youth.
MNCs in Education:
Opening the doors for foreign universities and educational institutions is also a part of the neo /liberal agenda of free trade and government’s over enthusiasm to carry forward GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) of WTO. It is wrong to expect that good and prestigious universities of the world are ready to enter India. In practice, low standard, profit-oriented and many fly-by-night universities and institutions will come and add to the loot and exploitation of Indian youth. It will not be only an economic drain. Entry of foreign companies in Indian education will also adversely affect the academic discourse, research, values, thinking and our culture. It will add to the already existing unhealthy foreign dominance and bias in the Indian mind which is a colonial heritage. Therefore, such moves should be resisted with full strength, by all of us.
Independent Commission and Privatisation:
Full report of the Yashpal Committee is yet to be made public. Its concern at the widespread rot in higher education in India is justified. Its criticism of the flood of deemed universities is also correct. But its suggestion of replacing UGC, AICTE, NCTE etc. by an all-encompassing, autonomous and independent ‘Commission for Higher Education & Research’ should be considered with caution. One, it is not clear in what way the new commission will be better than the existing ones and why can’t the existing UGC and other councils be reformed and renovated. Two, many such ‘autonomous’ and independent commissions have come up in the last two decades in the sectors of power, water, insurance, telecommunication etc. They have come along with the moves of privatization, mostly at the suggestion of the World Bank. They are supposed to be free of political influence, so that they remain aloof from people’s dissatisfaction and pressure. But they promote very much the agenda of the World Bank, MNCs and corporate world. They are actually a means to bypass Indian democratic processes. Whether the Yashpal committee means it or not, such commissions in education may be used to promote and legitimize the growing privatization of school and higher education in India. It is also unfortunate that Yashpal committee has not opposed in candid terms the growing privatization of higher education and entry of foreign institutions.
Come Forward to Start a Nationwide Campaign
Making education a market commodity is not acceptable. To discriminate among children in education, health, nutrition etc. is an uncivilized act. The Indian constitution had directed the state to provide education to all children within 10 years. (see directive principles). But six decades have passed and the goal is still far away. This is an unpardonable crime that the governments of independent India have committed against the Indian people, the nation and the constitution. The new measures will further take us away from this goal. It is high time that an all-India campaign be launched to pressurise Government of India on the following points:-
Commercialisation and privatization of education and profiteering from education should be stopped forthwith and all steps in this direction be withdrawn.
Ban on the entry of foreign educational institutions.
All kinds of discrimination and disparity in education should be abolished. Free, compulsory and equitable education for all children based on common school system should be immediately adopted.
Proper, permanent and trained teachers should be appointed in adequate numbers in government schools and given respectable salary. There should be adequate provision of building, playground, text books, kits, sports, laboratories, workshops, hostels, scholarships etc. in the schools. Each and every school should be brought to the level of Kendriya Vidyalaya or Navodaya Vidyalaya.
Present Right to Education Bill should be withdrawn and replaced by another Bill which fulfils the above conditions. There should be nationwide debate, discussion and public hearings on the draft of the Bill.
Government should make available all necessary resources for education. As per the recommendation of the Kothari Commission and Tapas Majumdar committee, at least 6% of the GDP should be spent by the government on education.
The medium of instruction should be the mother tongue. Continuing dominance of English in education, administration and public life is a colonial heritage. It should be done away forthwith.
Present methods of instruction, teaching and evaluation of the curriculum, continuing since the days of Macaulay should be radically altered. It is based on bookish knowledge, mugging, disrespect for physical labour and skill, cut off from real life and foreign influence. It should be remoulded according to the needs of common men and the goal of creating a socialist, democratic and secular India as enshrined in our constitution. Education should be able to develop the talents and capabilities hidden in each and every child.
An ‘All India Right to Education Forum’ has been formed in a national seminar on June 21-22 at Hyderabad around similar demands and issues. All India Samajwadi Adhyapak Sabha (Socialist Teachers Organisation) is also campaigning on the same issues and plans to conclude its campaign at Rajghat, New Delhi on October 25, 2009 with a huge gathering.
Please take up programs on these issues and demands in your units and locality. You can organize seminars, meetings, picketing, demonstrations, poster exhibitions. You can distribute pamphlets. You can also form ‘Right to Education Forum’ at local level by involving teachers, parents, students, citizens and people’s organizations.
Please notice that this is the centenary year of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, the great socialist leader who raised his voice for free and equitable education almost 50 years ago. The best tribute to him is to raise this voice again with our full might.
The Great Ideas of Kapil Sibal
“What Dr. Manmohan Singh did to the economy in 1991, I must do to the education system.”
“Time is running out. We cannot afford to set up committees and wait for their reports.”
“I don’t think the government can take care of the entire schooling at the primary and secondary levels because we cannot set up all the schools we want to… There is room for active private-public partnership.”
“If somebody wants to earn profit and wants to invest in another educational institute, what is the harm?” ( commenting on the Supreme Court’s order asking private educational institutions to invest back in the same institution.)
“Don’t create hurdles for entrepreneurs to enter the system to impart quality education. Don’t be dogmatic in the field of education.”
“Foreign universities will meet the ends of expansion and quality. And where necessary, it also must be inclusive.”
-From Sibal’s interview published in The Sunday Indian, 6-12 July 2009
Sunil
National President
Samajwadi Jan Parishad
At/Post Kesla, Via Itarsi
Dist. Hoshangabad(M.P) 461111
Phone: 09425040452
Email: sjpsunil@gmail.com