Right to Education is merely a political slogan; can it be successfully

implemented in India?
We have joined the club of 135 other countries that similar Right to Education
Act. But good intentions alone do not yield results. And if it is a political move,
however well-intentioned, it will always be suspect. Idealistic people will despair
about the practicality and cynics will dismiss it. Its a lofty goal. Education to all
until the age of 14 years. Creation of an egalitarian society through education.
And to a large extent, many believe that education can go a long way to address
other social issues plaguing this country.
Lets examine the issue a little closely. Article 45 of the Constitution states 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. 59 years later our
literacy rate hovers around 74% as per 2011 census against the world average of
84%. We still have largest number of illiterates in the world. It took us 59 years
to make the above provision into a law Right to Education Act, 2009. But for the
act to be successful it should not remain a law on paper with no scope or will to
implement. It took us 4 years, 2005-2009, before the act could be passed. In that
period many provisions in the act which could have been revolutionary and path
breaking were diluted due to pressure from various quarters like private schools,
parents from well-to-do sections etc. Still the government managed to pass the
law.
A look at the logistics required to implement the act will show that while the
heart was in the right place, the practicalities seems to have been completely
overlooked. Education is on the concurrent list meaning both centre and states
can legislate. However, most states lack the means to push through universal
education. It is clear that the centre will have to subsidize the states heavily for it
to get a modicum of success. It has been estimated that we will need
approximately 250000 crores over the next 5 years to implement this across the
country! Moreover, the skewed nature of our literacy rates, social parameters like
birth rate, gender ratio, GDP etc. makes the implementation of RTE also uneven.
Important parameters like student-teacher ratio, infrastructure, access to schools
in rural areas - all seem to have been ignored.
Many have pointed out that RTE was too hastily drafted and passed. The
criticisms have been quite strong with some even stating that its a fraud on our
children. It gives neither free education nor compulsory education. All
stakeholders were not kept in the loop and in the process there are more
opponents than proponents. It has also been mired in many controversies and
legal tangles. Many schools tried to pass on the burden of the additional cost to
parents who vehemently opposed it. RTE is also seen to be aggravating the
already dismal private-government school divide. It does not address the
abysmal quality of education in government schools which is compounded by

mismanagement, absenteeism, acute shortage of infrastructure and staff to run

these schools.
As of now, it has been a very tardy progress. Awareness is low, resistance stiff
and clarity dim. Some heart warming news like the rag pickers in Pune who read,
understood and pushed through their childrens admission in elite schools using
RTE. Or the lawyer in Andhra Pradesh who is trying to create awareness. Pockets
of zealous implementers, committed individuals. Not a cohesive action. None
spearheaded by the centre to speak of.
So, to conclude, good intentions and paper laws are just that. 62 years ago our
leaders had enshrined free & compulsory education to the countries young
citizens.
We dont need more laws or acts. We need action and better
implementation. Many countries have shown that it is possible to achieve high
literacy through government plans. We need the will, means can and will be
found.