Education bill unacceptable in present form, say activists

Bhubaneswar: The bill passed by parliament on Tuesday to ensure free and compulsory education is unacceptable in its present form, child rights activists said on Thursday. "It is unacceptable because by no means it guarantees the quality of education," Prabir Basu, national convenor of Campaign against Child Labour (CACL), told sources. CACL is an umbrella organization of over 6,500 groups working to eradicate child labour in the country. "The bill is going to exclude or deprive in some way or the other millions of children from different age groups, social and economic categories," he said, adding it did not recognize the right of children in the 14-18 age group to free and compulsory education. Basu also said the legislation did not have any clear directions or commitment on the financial responsibility of state and central governments. According to CACL executive member Ranjan Mohanty, the bill stops citizens from approaching courts if this fundamental right is violated and only allows them to complain to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which has no judicial powers. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2009, which accords that right to children in the 6-14 age group, was given parliamentary approval on Tuesday with the Lok Sabha passing it. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill July 20. "CACL has been demanding the re-drafting of the bill when it was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in December 2008. We have noticed that many of our demands were raised and supported by many of the members both in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha during the debate," Mohanty told sources. It was unfortunate, he said, that the "highly flawed bill" was passed without any of the suggested amendments being considered. IANS.