1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION, SCOPE AND

METHODOLOGY

The introductory chapter of the thesis sets a foundation for the

entire thesis. This chapter has been divided into six sections.
Section I gives the introduction on the importance of education
and explains the meaning of a child, child rights and right to
education. Section II explores the international scenario and the
international conventions and declarations on Right to Education
(RTE).

Section III covers the Indian experience on Right to Education,

the status of elementary education in the Twelfth Five Year Plan,
the constitutional provisions on right to education and traces the
historical evolution of the Right to Education in India. Section IV
covers the review of literature and the inferences drawn from it.
Section V details the education profile of Haryana and select
districts. Section VI covers the scope, significance, objectives,
hypothesis, research methodology followed by the chapter
scheme and limitations of the study.
 2

SECTION I

1.1.1 INTRODUCTION

Education is the cornerstone of a country's cultural spread. It is a trendsetter for cultural

revival and socio-economic change. The primary goal of education is to transform the
human personality into a savior of perfection through the development of the body,
enriching the mind, the sublimation of emotions and the radiance of the soul. Education
is the preparation for life and livelihood.1

Education as a subject affects man in all spheres and its necessity has been experienced
in the ages of civilization. Being educated means preparing for the good citizenship of
the country and the world. It is often said that a nation's future is created in its
classrooms, laboratories and playgrounds. Aristotle described this theory two billion
years ago when "the fate of the empire depended on youth education."

Education acts as a catalytic agent in developing and realizing a country's human

resources as it plays an important role in the overall development of the country.
Education is a major contributor to the development of a person's personality and
therefore helps to gain a respectable place in society. Education can bring about
personal development and social change and is an important factor in improving
people's living standards, eradicating poverty and accelerating economic growth.

The best investment a nation can make in its precious human resources for their holistic
development is in education of its people and it is for this reason that the provision of
education was laid in the Constitution itself by the founding fathers of our nation.

Education has a well-defined role in creating change conditions. Therefore, the main
objective of all national governments is to provide relevant and quality education.
Education is the most powerful tool for the progress and social change of the country.
It helps a person make rational choices and protect them from exploitation.

1
Unnikrishnan Vs State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) 1 SCC 645 at p.664, para 10.
 3

Right to education is an unqualified human right, which is a prerequisite for protecting

and enjoying all human rights. It is important to prioritize the right to education and to
include it in national educational strategies because it is a fundamental right that cannot
be confiscated. The full realization of the right to education is not just the question of
accessibility, but also the integrity, the quality of education and the environment in
which it is provided.2

Some of the aims and objectives of education, as specified in various

international covenants and treaties are:

a. The development of human personality and individual talent, a sense of

dignity and self-worth and mental as well as physical ability.
b. To instil respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as for
cultural identity, language and values.
c. To enable people to participate effectively in a free society.
d. The promotion of understanding, tolerance, friendship among all groups,
and to maintain peace.
e. To promote gender equality and respect for the environment.

1.1.2 WHO IS A CHILD, WHAT ARE CHILD RIGHTS AND WHAT

IS RIGHT TO EDUCATION?

According to Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child3, a
child is a person under the age of eighteen years until he or she attains a majority under
the applicable law. The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines basic rights of
children covering multiple needs and issues. India endorsed it on December 11, 1992.
Following are a few rights in the immediate purview:4

 The right to education

2
Chadah, Sapna “Operationalising Right to Education Act: Issues and Challenges” The Indian Journal
of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.616-634
3
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty which sets out the
civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.
4
www.unicef.org/crc. Accessed on 14th Feb 2017.
 4

 The right to expression

 The right to information

 The right to nutrition

 The right to health and care

 The right to protection from abuse

 The right to protection from exploitation

 The right to protection from neglect

 The right to development

 The right to recreation

 The right to name and nationality

 The right to survival

The right to education has been globally recognised since the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948 and has since been enshrined in various international
conventions, national constitutions and developmental plans. However, while a vast
majority of countries have signed, and ratified, international conventions, very few have
integrated these rights into their national constitutions or provided the legislative and
administrative frameworks to ensure that these rights are realised in practice.

In some cases, the right exists along with the assumption that the user should pay for
this right, undermining the very concept of a right. In others, the right exists in theory
but there is no administrative structure to implement this right in practice. Predictably,
a lack of government support for the right to education hits the poorest hardest. Today,
the right to education is still denied to millions around the world.

Being a right in itself, the right to education is also an enabling right. Education creates
the “voice” through which rights can be claimed and protected, and without education
people lack the capacity to achieve valuable functioning as part of the living.
 5

If people have access to education, they can develop the skills, capacity and confidence
to secure other rights. Education gives people the ability to access information detailing
the range of rights that they hold, and government’s obligations. It supports people to
develop the communication skills to demand these rights, the confidence to speak in a
variety of forums, and the ability to negotiate with a wide range of government officials
and power holders.

The Parliament passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
in August 2009, the dream of free and compulsory education for all children. After the
Right to Education came into force, India joined a league of over 130 countries with
legal guarantee to provide free and compulsory education to children 5. The Act
introduced Article 21-A, which provides children with the right to basic education
between the ages of 6 -14.6

It also amended Article 45 of the Indian Constitution, stating that the state would seek
to provide early childhood care and education for all children until the age of six7, The
primary function is introduced in Article 51-A for parents or guardians to provide
educational opportunities for their child in the age group of 6-14 years. This provision
of the Indian Constitution is very comprehensive and touches every aspect of education.
The broad features of this Act are:

a. Quality and compulsory education for every child in the age group of 6-14 years
in a neighboring school until the completion of elementary education.

b. No child shall be liable for any fees or charges incurred in preventing a child
from pursuing and completing early education.

c. Adequate arrangements for a non- admitted child to be admitted to an

appropriate class.

d. Action on behalf of the Government and local authority to establish a school

within the boundaries of the neighborhood, within a period of three years from

5
PTI. “India joins the list of 135 nations in making Education a Right”, The Hindu, 2 nd April, 2010.
6
Ins by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, s.9 (w.e.f. 01.04.2010)
7
Ibid
 6

the commencement of this Act and to ensure that every child completes
admission, attendance and basic education.

e. The government to make necessary arrangements to provide pre-school

education to all children who are above three years of age and to provide early
childhood care and education to all children up to the age of six years.

f. No school should refuse to admit any child on any basis.

g. When admitting a child, no school or individual to accept any capitation fee and
subject the child or his / her parents to any kind of screening process.

h. Sufficient number of qualified and trained teachers.

i. All schools to ensure appropriate infrastructure.

j. Teacher-student ratio management, provision of required facilities in schools,

student-friendly education and so on.

k. The law provides for 25% reservation for the marginalized children of the
society, with the aim of promoting inclusive growth.

l. Prohibition on corporal punishment, detention and deportation until the

completion of primary education.

m. For the development of curriculum and all round development of children with
the values embodied in the Constitution.

n. The curriculum must provide for learning through exploration, develop the
knowledge, talents and abilities of children; development of a full range of
physical and mental abilities; learning through activities, innovation and
exploration in a child-friendly and child-centered manner; freeing children from
trauma, fear and anxiety, and helping children to express ideas freely; a
comprehensive and continuous assessment of children's understanding of
knowledge.

o. The responsibility of parents / guardians is to enroll their child in a

neighborhood school.
 7

SECTION II

1.2.1 INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

The Right to Education has always been high on the agenda of the international
community. According to the UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report
20108, about 135 countries have constitutional provisions for free and non-
discriminatory education for all. However, the Report says that despite the legal
guarantee of free education, primary school fees continues to be charged in some
countries. The Report has been summarized as follows:

a. Only thirteen countries impart primary education totally free of cost. In majority
of countries, some direct costs have been reported though no tuition fee is
charged.
b. Chile tops the list of countries in providing free education for a period of fifteen
years to a child. It gives free and compulsory education to children in the age
group of six to twenty one years.
c. There are seven countries such as Germany, Belgium, Italy and Norway that
have provisions of free compulsory education to children covering their entire
schooling period.
d. Countries like Britain and New Zealand have made education compulsory and
free for children for a period of eleven years.
e. Spain, France, Norway and Canada are among the 19 nations where education
is free of cost for a duration of ten years, ranging from the age of five to fifteen
or six to sixteen years.

8
The Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010 was released on 19 January 2010. The Global
Monitoring Report is written annually by an independent team and published by UNESCO. Developed
by an independent team and published by UNESCO, the EFA Global Monitoring Report published from
2002–2015, aimed to sustain commitment towards Education for All. It published 12 Reports from 2002
until 2015, and was then renamed, and relaunched under a new mandate as the Global Education
Monitoring (GEM) Report, UNESCO, whose principal role is to monitor progress towards the education
targets in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It has been replaced by the Global Education
Monitoring Report. The title of this year's report is Reaching the marginalized. UNESCO estimates that
72 million children of primary school age were out of school in 2007. The report examines who these
children are and why they are excluded from education. The report further argues that there is a persistent
financing gap that prevents countries from reaching the goal of education for all and that, based on current
trends, 56 million children of primary school age will still be out of school in 2015.
 8

f. There are 34 countries, including Japan, Finland, Russia and Sweden where a
child gets nine years of compulsory education.
g. In India, the Right to Education law, providing free and compulsory schooling
to children in the 6 -14 years age bracket, came into force recently. With this
new Act which is now operational, India has joined some 20 other countries
including Afghanistan, China and Switzerland which have laws guaranteeing
free and compulsory education for eight years of elementary education.
h. India’s neighbours such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan do not have any law
providing free education, whereas Bangladesh and Myanmar have such
provisions for a four-year-period while Nepal has five years of compulsory
schooling.
i. There are seven countries, including Romania and Brazil whose laws define
seven years of compulsory education for a child, while five countries, including
the Philippines and Georgia give children legal right to education for a period
of six years.
j. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq and eight other countries have the
provision of five years of free education for children.
k. However, there are over 50 countries, including the US, South Africa, Malaysia
and a majority of African countries which do not have any constitutional
provision to provide free and compulsory education to children.

1.2.2 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND DECLARATIONS

ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

Education has been formally recognized as a human right since the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and has since been enshrined in
various international conventions, national constitutions and developmental plans.
Various treaties/conventions/declarations listed below establish an entitlement to free
and compulsory primary education for all children worldwide.
 9

1.2.2.1 UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 19489

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights10 was adopted by the UN General

Assembly11 on 10th December 1948 and was the result of the experiences of the Second
World War. With the end of the war, and the creation of the United Nations, the
international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict
happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map
to guarantee the rights to every individual everywhere.

The document they considered, and which later became the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946. This
declaration under Article 26 provides that everyone has the Right to free and
compulsory education in the elementary and fundamental stages. It also mentions that
the fundamental aim of education should be directed to the full development of the
human personality and to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all
nations, racial or religious groups.

1.2.2.2 INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC SOCIAL

AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, 1966 12

The Covenant was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the
United Nations General Assembly on 16th December, 1966 following almost 20 years
of drafting debates. Article 13 of the Covenant has been interpreted as being the most
comprehensive article on the right to education.

9
The United Nations Organisations. www.un.org/en/documents/udhr, Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
10
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a historic document that was adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly at its third session on 10 December 1948 as Resolution 217 at the
Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the then 58 members of the United Nations, 48 voted in favour,
none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote. The Declaration consists of 30 articles affirming an
individual's rights which, although not legally binding in themselves, have been elaborated in subsequent
international treaties, economic transfers, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and
other laws. The Declaration was the first step in the process of formulating the International Bill of
Human Rights, which was completed in 1966, and came into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of
countries had ratified them.
11
The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN),
serving as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. The UNGA is the
only UN organ wherein all member states have equal representation.
12
www.ohchr.org/Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
 10

The Covenant, under Article13, provides that education should be directed to the full
development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and should
strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and with a view to
achieving the full realization of this right, primary education should be free and
compulsory for all.

1.2.2.3 CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, 198913

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or
UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social
and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are
bound by it by international law. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the
Convention on 20th November, 1989. It came into force on 2nd September, 1990, after
it was ratified by the required number of nations. In total 193 member nation states of
the United Nations (all except the United States and Somalia) have ratified it.

The Convention deals with the child-specific needs and rights. It requires that states act
in the best interests of the child. The Convention under Article 28 provides for the
promotion of international cooperation in matters relating to education with a view to
contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and
facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods
and for making primary education free and compulsory to all and provides that
education should be directed towards the development of the child's personality, talents
and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.

1.2.2.4 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE

ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION,
196514

Article 5 of this convention provides for prohibition and elimination of racial

discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right to education and training
without distinction as to race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

13
www.unicef.org/crc. Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
14
www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3940.html. Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
 11

1.2.2.5 UNESCO CONVENTION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN

EDUCATION, 196015

The Convention was adopted on 14th December, 1960 by the General Conference of
UNESCO and was the outcome of long deliberations and numerous studies carried out
in the preceding years. The task thus accomplished is an important one because “of all
forms of discrimination, those that occur in education are the most destructive, as they
affect the very essence of the individual and society, namely the forming of the mind;
and the most abhorrent, as the victims are first and foremost children”

Article 1 and 3 of the Convention prohibits all forms of discrimination in access to

education and Article 4 provides for making primary education free and compulsory,
make secondary education in its different forms generally available and accessible to
all, and make higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of individual
capacity.

The recognition of the right to free and compulsory primary education has also been
exemplified in the international goals, strategies and targets that have been set during
the past twenty years. At the World Education Forum held at Dakar (Senegal) in 2000,
the international community reaffirmed its commitment to achieve “Education for
All16”. In the ‘Millennium Development Goals17’, established in 2000, the world
governments committed to achieve universal access to free, quality and compulsory
primary education by 2015.

15
Ibid
16
The second goal in the United Nations Millennium Development Goal is to achieve Universal Primary
Education, more specifically, to "ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike will be
able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
17
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year
2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000,
following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) succeeded the MDGs in 2016. All 191 United Nations member states, and at least 22
international organizations, committed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
 12

SECTION III

1.3.1 THE INDIAN SCENARIO

1.3.1.1 PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

HAVING A BEARING ON RIGHT TO EDUCATION

The Constitution is the fundamental law of the country, reflecting the underlying and
unifying values of the society and spelling the basic rights of every individual. Before
1976, education was the exclusive responsibility of the states since it was in the State
List18. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act shifted the subject to the Concurrent
List19 so that the union government shares in more responsibility on the subject. The
articles related to Right to Education in the Constitution of India are:

Art. 21A The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between
the age of 6 to 14 years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.20

Art. 29 provides for the protection of interests of minorities residing in any part of the
country and having distinct culture off their own to have the right to conserve it. It also
provides that no individual can be refused admission to any state owned educational
institution on the grounds of religion race etc.21

Art. 30 provides for the right of minorities to establish and maintain education
institutions22. It also states that all minorities, regardless of religion or language, have
the right to establish and maintain educational institutions of their choice. The state
shall not discriminate against any such educational institution.

Art. 41 provides right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases.

18
The legislative section is divided into three lists: Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
19
The Concurrent List or List-III[citation needed] (Seventh Schedule) is a list of 52 items given in the
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. It includes the power to be considered by both the union
and state government.
20
Ins by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, s. 3 (w.e.f. 01.04.2010)
21
www.india.gov.in/govt/constitutions-india.php. Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
22
Ibid
 13

The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make
effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance
in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of
undeserved want.23

Art. 45 states that State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education
for all children until they complete the age of six years.24

Art. 46 provides for the endorsement of educational and economic interests of the
underprivileged sections of the society. It also provides that the state shall take into
account the educational and economic interest of the subsections of the society and shall
protect them from all forms of exploitation.

Art. 51A (k) makes it the duty of every parent or guardian to provide adequate
opportunities of education to their children between 6 to 14 years of age.25

Art. 350A provides for arrangements of teaching at the elementary age in mother
tongue.

It is the state and every local authority in the state to provide adequate access to
education in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education for children belonging
to language minority communities; The President may issue such instructions to any
State as may be deemed necessary or appropriate for the provision of such facilities.26

23
www.india.gov.in/govt/constitutions-india.php, Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
24
Ins by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, s.9 (w.e.f. 01.04.2010)
25
Ibid
26
Ins. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 21.
 14

Table 1.1: Constitutional Provisions at a glance

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS THEME

Art. 21A Right to Education
Art. 29 Protection of interests of minorities
Right of minorities to establish and
Art. 30
administer educational institutions
Provision for securing the right to work,
to education and to public assistance in
Art. 41 cases of unemployment, old age,
sickness and disablement, and in other
cases of undeserved want
The State shall endeavour to provide
early childhood care and education for
Art. 45
all children until they complete the age
of six years
Promotion of educational and economic
Art. 46 interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and other weaker sections.
Parent or guardian to provide
opportunities for education to his child
Art. 51A (k)
or, as the case may be, ward between the
age of 6 and 14 years
Facilities for instruction in mother-
Art. 350A
tongue at primary stage.
 15

1.3.1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF RIGHT TO

EDUCATION IN INDIA

“I beg to place the following resolution before the council for its consideration.…the
state should accept in this country the same responsibility in regard to mass education
that the government of most civilized countries are already discharging and that a well
considered scheme should be drawn up and adhered to till it is carried out.. The well
being of millions upon millions of children who are waiting to be brought under the
influence education depends upon it...”

The above words are part of the resolution which Gopal Krishna Gokhale moved in
the Imperial Legislative Council on 18th March 1910 for seeking provision of ‘free and
compulsory primary education” in India. This initiative must however be seen as part
of the following sequence of events27:

1870: Compulsory Education Act passed in Britain.

1882: Indian Education Commission: Indian leaders demand provision for mass
education and compulsory education acts.

1893: Maharaja of Baroda introduces compulsory education for boys in Amreli Taluk.

1906: Maharaja of Baroda extends compulsory education to rest of the state.

1906: Gopal Krishna Gokhale makes a plea to the Imperial Legislative Council for
introduction of free and compulsory education.

1910: Gokhale proposes in the Imperial Legislative Council a private member’s bill.
(rejected)

1917: Vithalbhai Patel is successful in getting the bill passed - first law on compulsory
education passed (popularly known as Patel Act)

27
www.righttoeducation.in, Accessed on 21st Aug 2020
 16

1918: Every province in British India gets compulsory education act in its statute book

1929: Hartog Committee28 recommendation for better quality (less focus on quantity)
hinders spread and development of primary education.

1937: None of the above initiatives, however, were seriously implemented; lack of
resources and enforcement being the chief reasons. The situation worsened over the
years forcing Mahatma Gandhi to give a stirring call for universal education in 1937 at
Wardha. Although the primary focus of the conference was on vocational education but
still it adopted ‘free and compulsory education to be provided for seven years on a
nation-wide scale’ as one of the resolutions of the conference; His plea for adequate
finances for universal education was met with a response that if at all, the way out was
to utilize revenues from liquor sales.

1944: The Central Advisory Board of Education submitted a comprehensive report on

post-war educational development, known as the Sargent Report29, visualizing a system
of universal, compulsory and free education for all boys and girls between the ages of
6 and 14.

1946: Constituent assembly began its task.

1947: Ways and Means (Kher)30 Committee set up to explore ways and means of
achieving universal elementary education within ten years at lesser cost.

28
Sir Philip Joseph Hartog committee was appointed by the British Indian government to survey on the
growth of education in India. The Hartog committee on education submitted its report in 1929. The
Hartog committee 1929, had devoted more attention to mass education than the secondary and University
education. The Hartog committee highlighted the problem of wastage and stagnation in education at the
primary level.
29
The Sargent Scheme, formally known as the Report of the Sargent Commission on Post-War Education
Development in India, was a 1944 memorandum (as claimed by British) prepared at the behest of the
British-run Government of India that outlined the future development of literacy and education in India.
A central goal of the Sargent Scheme was the educational reconstruction of India. It recommended the
introduction of free and compulsory education for all Indian children in the 6-11 years age group. The
plan aimed to bring about universal literacy in India within 40 years of its introduction
30
Second Wardha Committee appointed by CABE under the chairmanship of Shri B.G. Kher, Premier
of Bombay, in 1938, along with the first one formed the basis of the Sargent Committee which planned
for a ‘universal compulsory and free system of basic education for boys and girls between age six and
fourteen.
 17

1947: Constituent Assembly’s Subcommittee on Fundamental Rights placed free and

compulsory education on list of fundamental rights:

“Clause 23- Every citizen is entitled as of… right to free primary education and it shall
be the duty of the State to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement
of this Constitution for free and compulsory primary education for all children until
they complete the age of fourteen years.”

1947: Advisory Committee of the Constituent Assembly rejects free and compulsory
education as a fundamental right (costs being the reason). Sends clause to list of “non
– justiciable fundamental rights” (later termed as ‘Directive Principles of State Policy).

1949: Debate in Constituent Assembly: first line of Article 36 “Every citizen is entitled
as of right to free primary education and it shall be the duty of the State to...” removed
“it shall be the duty of the State to” and replaced it with “The State shall endeavour
to...”

1950: Finally, Article 45 of Directive Principles of State Policy accepted: “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”.

1993: The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment in 1993 held that free education,
until a child completes the age of fourteen, to be a fundamental right (Unnikrishnan and
others Vs State of Andhra Pradesh and others) by stating that: “The citizens of this
country have a fundamental right to education. The said right flows from Article 21.
This right is, however, not an absolute right. Its content and parameters have to be
determined in the light of Articles 45 and 41. In other words, every child/citizen of this
country has a right to free education until he completes the age of fourteen years.
Thereafter his right to education is subject to the limits of economic capacity and
development of the State.31”

2002: Spurred by the Unnikrishnan judgment and a public demand to enforce the right
to education, successive governments from 1993 worked towards bringing a

31
Unnikrishnan Vs State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) 1 SCC 645 at p.664, para 10.
 18

constitutional amendment to make education a fundamental right. That led to the 86th
amendment in December 2002 which inserted the Article 21A, 45 and 51A(k) in the
Constitution:

2003: The free and compulsory education for children bill, 2003 (lapsed)

2004: The free and compulsory education for children bill, 2004 (lapsed)

June 2005: The right to education bill, 2005 (lapsed)

2006: The right to education bills introduced in 2005 lapsed and the States were advised
to make their own bills based on “The Model Right to Education Bill, 2006” as decided
by the UPA I government (2004-2009)

2008-9: The Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education Bill, 2008, introduced
and passed in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, received President’s assent in August 2009.
However, the notification of the Act and the 86th amendment, was issued on 19th Feb,
2010 in the Gazette of India, stating that implementation will begin from April 1, 2010,
eight months after the presidential assent.

June 2011: The Haryana Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education Rules,
2011 come into force w.e.f. 3rd June, 2011.

1.3.2 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN THE TWELFTH FIVE

YEAR PLAN

Recognizing the importance of education in national development, the Twelfth Plan in

India places an unprecedented focus on the expansion of education, which would
significantly improve the quality of education provided and ensure access to
educational opportunities for all sections of society. The six main elements of the
driving principles and strategy of the Twelfth Plan in the field of education are:

a. From the perspective of lifelong learning and education, all stages of

education should be viewed in an integrated manner;
b. Broader, collective and larger efforts to strengthen the quality of teaching-
learning processes require simultaneous attention to how these processes
can result in improved outcomes;
 19

a. To improve learning outcomes at all levels, there must be a focus on teacher

motivation, competence and accountability;
b. The governance of educational institutions requires an institutional focus
on quality based on principles of autonomy, accountability and
performance. It basically involves redefining recruitment standards, teacher
eligibility and merit-based process of hiring in these institutions;
c. Encourage diversity in curriculum, pedagogy, and community engagement
to respond to the diversity of practice groups, regional / social contexts, and
institutional forms within a common national justice and policy framework
and human development in the field of education;
d. Strengthening stakeholder oversight and accountability policies in school
education is essential, including those covered by the Right to Education
Act.

The main focus of the Twelfth Plan is to implement the objectives of the Right to
Education Act and to implement government policies and procedures with the overall
goal of providing quality schooling for all children up to the age of fourteen.

32
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will continue to be the main programme for the
development of elementary education in the Twelfth Plan to ensure the rights of primary
education for every child. The Twelfth Plan consists of four strategic areas under the
SSA. They are:

a. a strong focus on learning outcomes

b. resolving residual access and equity
c. focus on teacher and academic leadership;
d. relationship with other sectors and programs.

32
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an Indian Government programme aimed at the universalisation of primary
education "in a time bound manner". The programme was pioneered by former Indian Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It aims to educate all children between the ages 6 to 14 by 2010. However, the
time limit has been pushed forward indefinitely. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a programme for
Universal Elementary Education. This programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for
improving human capabilities to all children through provision of community -owned quality education
in a mission mode.
 20

The main elements of the strategy for elementary education are:

a. SSA's transition from project-based approach to integrated Right to

Education-based governance systems for Universal Elementary Education;
b. To address residual access and equity gaps in elementary education by
taking special steps to ensure that children attend regular schooling and to
develop special strategies to address the issue of dropout before completing
the full cycle of primary education;
c. Linking pre-school education with elementary school education to have a
strong foundation for learning during elementary school;
d. Emphasizing educational quality with a system-wide focus on learning
outcomes assessed by classroom-based CCE, which can be independently
measured, monitored, and reported at the block / district / state level;
e. Focus on early grade supplementary instruction to ensure that all children
achieve defined age/ class-specific learning levels by the end of class two;
f. Describe clear learning goals that must be achieved by the end of each class
or by a set of classes. Parents and teachers need to understand these goals;
g. Enhance teacher training by looking at the reality of multiple, multi-grade
and multi-level contexts, such as Indian classrooms, with an emphasis on
effective teaching. In addition, make the professional development of
teachers a needs-based process in contrast to the top-down decisions that
are central to curriculum design and delivery;
h. Invest in both top-down administrative oversight of schools and bottom-up
community-driven supervision;
i. Focusing on strengthening good governance practices in all schools and
related institutions that ensure performance-based internal and external
accountability to teachers and administrators at all levels and overall
evaluation-oriented development of schools;
j. Strengthening ongoing and continuous field-based systems of educational
support for schools and teachers and strengthening district and block-level
capacity for improved management and leadership;
k. Support states to set learning goals and invest in independent oversight of
outcomes, but provide states with adequate autonomy to achieve these goals
 21

and provide additional results funding to states that have the most
improvement in educational outcomes;
l. Providing a supportive environment for the evaluation of innovative
practices and the sharing of best practices across states and districts;
m. To ensure regular attendance and quality education, assist the State with
community and parental motivation, capacity development and
accountability; and
n. Working with panchayats, community based organisations (CBOs) and
other sectors at the school level.

The following objectives in the field of school education set out for the Twelfth Plan
are: 33

a. Examine the letter and spirit of the Right to Education Act, ensure universal
access and provide good quality and compulsory education to all children
between the ages of 6 and 14;
b. Improving attendance at the primary level and reducing dropout rates to
less than 10 percent and reducing the percentage of school children in all
socio-economic and minority groups and all states to less than 2 percent;
c. Increase enrollment in higher education and increase the Gross Enrollment
Ratio (GER) at the secondary level to 90 percent and to 65 percent at the
senior secondary level;
d. Increasing the overall literacy rate to 80 percent and reducing the gender
gap in literacy to 10 percent;
e. Provide at least one year of well-supported / well-resourced pre-school
education to all children in elementary schools;
f. Improve learning outcomes that are measured, monitored and
independently reported at all levels of school, with a focus on learning basic
reading and numeracy skills and critical thinking, expression, and problem
solving skills.

33
The Ministry of Human Resource Development, http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files
/document-reports/XIIFYP_SocialSector.pdf, Accessed on 14th Feb 2017
 22

SECTION IV

1.4.1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Haan, Allyn and Bacon (1961)34 had suggested that India needed to grow and
experiment in the field of education so as to prepare itself for the future needs. Haan
opined that, the school had always played major role in imparting methods and values
of a free society and this should start at the elementary curricula itself.

Allavi, Ziauddin (1963)35 had analysed the importance of general education in man’s
life in an age of specialization and explosion of knowledge. To him, general education
brought all round development of personality by creating in the student an
understanding of principles underlying natural and social phenomena, the ability of
applying one’s knowledge to solving his personal problems and an attitude of healthy
interest both in personal growth and social progress.

Bebby, C.E (1966)36 had opined that half of world's population, which was
concentrated in the developing world, was illiterate. This was because of population
explosion and thus there were increasing demands on resources and educational
infrastructure. Therefore, there was more concentration on quantity of education rather
than on quality of education. He suggests that more emphasis should be laid on the
qualitative aspect of education, teacher training and modified curricula adapted to the
levels of both teachers and children in the school system.

Mukherjee, Kartick C (1971)37 had discussed some of the educational problems from
a comparative, cross cultural perspective. He had emphasized upon the social, political
and economic problems of Indian and English educational system especially in light of
the fact that Indian education system was rooted in the colonial past.

34
Aubrey Haan, Allyn and Bacon. Elementary School Curriculum: Theory and Research. INC Boston,
1961.
35
S.M Ziauddin Allavi, Introducing General Education, Bookland Private Limited, Calcutta. 1963
36
C.E. Bebby. The Quality of Education in Developing Countries. Harvard University Press,
Massachusetts. 1996
37
Mukherjee, Kartick C. A Comparative Study of Some Educational Problems, Lalvani Publishing
House. Bombay, 1971
 23

Misra, Atmanand (1971)38 in his work had argued that finances played a very
important role in the growth and development of education. He said that if education
was to be an instrument of liberating force in society then it must be freed from the
shackles of financial constraints.

Sharma, Ram Sarup (1972)39 in his work argued that administrative and financial
problems of elementary education in Punjab had adversely affected the progress of
organization of education in the state. According to him, there were serious problems
of inadequate physical facilities, outdated curriculum and textbooks, teachers possessed
poor general and professional education, there existed rural-urban imbalance, lack of
decentralization, bottlenecks regarding supply of materials to schools, concentration of
power at higher levels, inadequate funds, low proportion of expenditure on elementary
education, centralized purchasing of school equipment etc. The author suggested that
above mentioned problems needed to be overcome if Punjab really wanted to achieve
the objective of UEE.

Gupta, B.R.(1973)40 has examined the present set up of educational Administration

and said that it is not serving adequately and it is not much different from general
administration since it is also bureaucratic and is characterized by red tape, political
interference, hierarchy, rigid rules, regulations and such similar drawbacks. The present
hierarchical set up and approach in administration leaves no scope for mutual
communication between various levels. Moreover, the political interference seems to
have hampered the normal processes of educational administration.

Kaur, Kuldip (1985)41 has traced the origin of our education system since 1981. Part
I of the study deals with the development, growth and implementation of various
recommendations of various committees, conferences, seminars, study groups and the
commissions appointed by the Government of India and State Government during

38
Misra, Atmanand, Education and Finance. Kailash Pustak Sadan, 1971.
39
Sharma,Ram Sarup. “Administrative and Financial Problems of Elementary Education in Punjab and
their Impact on the Educational Progress of the State” Ph.D. Thesis, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 1972
40
Gupta, B.R. “An Exploratory investigation into the present educational administration with a view to
streamlining it”, Ph.D. Thesis, Panjabi University, 1973
41
Kuldip Kaur,” Education in India (1761-1985): Policies, Planning and Implementation”,
Chandigarh,1985
 24

1981-1985. Part II gives a glimpse of source material, which has been arranged, in six
sections with annotations and necessary documentation. The book makes an extensive
coverage of characteristics of colonial education, education in Independent India,
education sub system and socio economic system.

Jha, S.N. (1985) 42 has critically surveyed the progress and development in education
covering pre and post independence periods and pleads that education should inculcate
socialistic, secular and democratic values among students. The author has covered
deliberations and suggestions of various committees and commissions set up from time
to time. The author is of the view that a link has to be established between education
and economy and that education and research should be need based and more attention
has to be devoted to applied research, although fundamental research is also necessary
for advancement of knowledge.

Raza, Moonis (1986)43 has studied the multiplicity of agencies and diverse disciplines
that are found in the educational system. The study includes 19 thought provoking
papers and has been arranged in 4 parts. A serious thinking on our educational system,
views it in global, societal, technological and methodological context in the long term
scenario.

Birdi, H.S. (1989)44 has traced the development of education in India as reviewed by
various commissions and committees and find out the impact of qualitative and
quantitative aspects of national education policies since 1854 on the development of
primary, secondary and higher education, vocational and technical education, women
and adult education. The researcher concludes that the progress made for the cause of
elementary education has been enormous during the pre independence era. The
establishing of Navodaya Vidyalayas has been a major step towards providing better
modern education with awareness of the environment, adventure activities and physical
education to the talented children from the rural areas as well.

42
S.N. Jha, “Education for socialism, secularism and democracy”, Amar Prakashan, 1985
43
Moonis Raza, “Educational Planning: A Long Term Perspective”, NIEPA and Concept publishing,
1986.
44
H.S. Birdi, “The implementation of national educational policies in India”, Ph.D. Thesis, Patiala
University, Patiala, 1989
 25

Seth, Poonam (1989)45 has studied the effect of level of educational qualifications of
parents and family income on the competence of the children of 3-4 and 4-5 years of
age. The researcher also studied the effect of working status of mother and concluded
that both, the educational qualifications and economic status of parents influence the
competence of the children, however, the working status of the mother, does not seem
to have any co-relation with the competence of children. Further the nature of parental
interaction is also an important factor influencing the child development and education
of the parents seems to be one of the factors associated with low or high interactions of
the parents with their children.

World Bank Policy Paper (1990)46 has highlighted that children’s learning is a
function of family background and school input. While the quantitative expansion of
the system in India appears to be very impressive, the achievement of the goal of
universalisation of primary education has still remained elusive. Provision of basic
education continues to be a matter of serious concern for all the developing and
developed countries of the world.

Kutubbuddin Halder (1995)47 has explored the effects of non- detention policy on
dropout rate in primary schools. It was found that the mere declaration of non detention
policy is not enough to eliminate the root cause of stagnation. To make the declaration
effective, particularly in the context of universalisation of elementary education,
teachers engaged in the elementary level should be well equipped, qualified and trained
so as to ensure qualitative check at the elementary level.

Chaudhri, Sonali (1999)48 has studied the problems faced by the education officers at
the Directorate and the leadership behaviour of Principals in the context of school
administration. The researcher further studied the teacher job satisfaction/attitude and
day to day administrative problems faced by the schools of district Kaithal. It was found
that that the Secretariat meddles in minor issues pertaining to the implementation of

45
Poonam Seth, “Effect of parental interaction and educational qualification for optimizing the integrated
development of pre school children”, Ph.D Thesis, submitted to Panjab University, Chandigarh, 1989
46
World Bank Policy Paper on Primary Education, World Bank, 1990
47
Kutubbuddin Halder, “Non detention policy and drop out in primary education”, Calcutta University,
West Bengal, Calcutta, 1995
48
Sonali Chaudri, “ School Administration in Haryana with special reference to district Kaithal”, Ph.D
Thesis, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 1999
 26

policies. The existing two directorates of school duplicate the work and result in
wasteful expenditure. The Directorates are overburdened and decentralization and
delegation of powers to the district and block level are urgently required. Old methods
of supervision i.e. the fault finding approach is irrelevant in modern context of
supervision.

Thangamuthu, C. (2001)49 views that providing teachers with learning materials and
encouraging parents to get more involved in the schooling of their children are more
effective than a school feeding programme for reducing dropout rates and increasing
learning. The author opines that the teaching-learning environment and quality are so
unsatisfactory that the teachers themselves would arrange for their own child’s
education in better schools in the private sector.

Shekhar, Madhu R. (2001)50 has opined that social development depends on good
education and it is the female education on which depends health and other related
social issues like sex ratio, birth rate, infant mortality rate etc. the author opines that
education should be inclusive and that the windows and doors of education should be
opened widely, so that girls and women get the bright light of knowledge in abundance.
A literate mother can do wonders in building up a healthy society and a bright future of
our nation.

Govinda, R(2002)51 has edited a unique volume in which the ideas and arguments
about free elementary education for all are adequately supported by data. The volume
covers different aspects of basic education in India viz. literacy campaigns, education
of Dalits, the urban disadvantaged, problem of teachers education, quality of schools,
conditions of learning, role of NGOsc, decentralized management and financing of
elementary education etc. Various problems that are likely to be faced on the way to
successful completion of education for all projects have also been dealt with. The
volume is distinctly different from the reports of earlier committees and commissions

49
C. Thangamuthu, “A Dismal Scenario of primary education: Need for market approach”, Yojana,
November 2001, pp 15-17
50
Madhu R. Shekhar, “Girls Education: Opening the window on to the world”, Yojana, November 2001,
pp 46-47
51
R. Govinda,” Education for all in India: How far and which way?” Oxford University press, New
Delhi, 2002
 27

on education in India since it involves independent views and judgments of experts

writing chapter related to essential aspects of elementary education in India

Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen (2002)52 have rightly observed that the absence of good
teaching aids and dull teaching methods has affected the quality of education. They
have suggested some initiatives and certain structural and systematic changes, which
are required for providing a student centered system of education.

Pradhan, G.C. (2002)53 emphasizes the development of educational material at the

expense of co-educational material as the current mode of assessment in higher
education. Unfortunately, equally important non-cognitive learning outcomes are not
widely or consistently tested. High levels of evaluation of cognitive learning outcomes
are often overlooked. The author outlines the four areas of the project identified and the
methodology of the evaluation of each area separately. The author hopes that a
consistent and participatory assessment system will provide students with timely
feedback to improve their performance and thereby provide self-assessment and self-
improvement.

Chauhan, C.P.S. (2002)54 had said that the strong linkage between the economy and
education was never so clearly visible as of now. The functioning of the educational
institutions, as well as the educational choice of the youth, has remarkably been
influenced by the market economy. Quest for knowledge is no more a motivating factor
for prospective learners; rather it is the availability of employment in the market that
makes the learners choose their areas of study.

Pathak, Avijit (2002)55 has covered four themes in four parts of the book. In part I, the
author has interrogated the existing theoretical perspectives that look that look at the
inter linkages between education and society at large. In part II, the author looks into
how societal expectations and dominant ideologies influence and shape our educational

52
Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen, “Indian Development and Participation” Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 2002
53
G.C.Pradhan, “Evaluation in higher education: A suggested scheme” University News, Feb 25-Mar 3,
2002, pp.1-4
54
C.P Chauhan, “Higher education in India: Challenges of global trends,” University News, Apr 29-May
5, 2002 pp.4-9
55
Avijit Pathak, “Social Implications of schooling: Knowledge, pedagogy and consciousness”, Rainbow
Publishers, New Delhi, 2002
 28

ideals and goals. In part III, the author examines the possibility of institutions such as
Mirambika schools, which was based on the ideals and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo.
Such schools are better and distinct from other schools because the other schools are
highly structured and make the student only to memorize information to be vomited in
the oppressive examination system. In the last part, the author aptly makes a point that
an experiment like Mirambika is not the only experiment that one can think of in a
highly diversified society like ours.

Singh, Karan (2002)56 has felt that the education system should acknowledge the
multiple dimensions of the human personality and special attention must be paid to
value oriented education including environmental values, small family norms, inter
faith values and a sense of responsibility along with rights, duties along with democratic
freedom. He further suggests that special attention should be given to female literacy,
particularly in the developing countries, so that the accumulated distortions of the past
can be rectified, and the empowerment of women can be achieved which is so necessary
for an integrated and harmonious civilization.

Ratan, V. Luxmi (2003)57 holds that universalisation of elementary education has been
accepted as a national goal by incorporating it in the Directive Principles of State
Policy. Also, to ensure quality, it is necessary that our accreditation process is made
more transparent, free from the regimes of controls and time bound. Modernization of
syllabi, examination reforms and greater attention to issues of governance of
universities and colleges, all require immediate attention.

Govinda, R. (2005)58 felt that under pressure to fulfill national and international
commitment, the direction of universalising basic education in achieving qualitative
goals is undesirable. There is insufficient attention to school processes and outcomes.
The Center and the state governments are reiterating the progress in terms of expansion
of school facilities and coverage of children of the relevant age group.

56
Karan Singh, “Education in the 21st century”, Yojana, September 2002, pp.6-8
57
V. Luxmi Ratan, “Education in last fifty years”, Yojana, May 2003, pp.18-23
58
R. Govinda, “Elementary education: Progress and challenges”, Yojana, September 2005, pp. 9-13
 29

Zachariah, Job (2005)59 has analysed the road blocks in achieving the target of
universalisation of elementary education. The author says that there is an absence of
quality in the schools and that most of the schools are plagued by a child unfriendly
pedagogy, poor quality of education, poor functioning schools, detention of children,
corporal punishment, ill trained and untrained teachers, inadequacy of teachers etc.
There are also equity issues with regard to the gender issue.

Hausain, Zakir (2005)60 was of the view that the low level of literacy within the
Muslim community is traditionally explained in terms of the conservative values
characterizing the Muslim society. The author argues that economic factors and
uncertainties in the labour market combine to create a different perception of cost
benefits of education. The author examines other facets of educational decisions: its
cost components, the choice of educational institutions, preferred medium of
instructions, the presence/absence of gender bias, the relation between drop outs and
child labour. The author further adds that Muslims perceive a bias against themselves
in the labour market and also seek work in the informal sector. It is important to note
that they don’t leave schools because they have found work, they seek work because
they have left school. In such cases replacement of formal education at the secondary
level by vocational training courses may be a relevant option before the policy makers.

Ghosh, Bhaskar (2005)61 has stated that right through the years, since the development
of the country was moulded in accordance with the plans formulated in the Planning
Commission by experts and scholars, the position that has been given to education in
the overall policy of development formulated by successive government, has been
much lesser than the statements made about it. But it needs to be stressed that the
country cannot progress unless the people are educated enough to be aware of their
problems and are able to take up suitable activities to improve their lot. The initiatives
in the direction of universal education and total literacy campaigns can lead to
realization of ambitious development programmes in all other sectors in the longer run.

59
Job Zachariah, “Universal elementary education”, Yojana, September 2005, pp. 15-21
60
Zakir Husain, “Analysing demand for primary education: Muslim slum dwellers of kolkata”, Economic
and Political Weekly, Jan 8-14, 2005, pp.137-147
61
Bhaskar Ghosh, “Education and its priority in development policy”, Indian Journal of Public
Administration, July-September, 2005 pp.327-331
 30

Aikara, Jacob (2006)62 has rightly said that education, as a process of learning is as
old as human civilization itself. In modern society, it has acquired characteristics of a
process involving a complex system of social relationships among individuals and
interactions between education and other social institutions. Viewing education from
the sociological perspective, the book tries to answer what education is expected to do
in human society, and what it actually does or fails to do. It is basically a study of
education in relation to the various societal factors that affect and in turn get affected
by the social institutions of education.

Sinha, Shantha (2008)63 has opined that considering the precarious conditions under
which most of our children live in, there is a need to recommit ourselves to the
constitutional obligation towards our children made nearly six decades ago. The
Constitution clearly provided for a commitment to free and compulsory education for
all children up to fourteen years of age in the Directive Principles of State Policy, to be
accomplished within ten years.

The national commitment towards protection of childhood was clearly enshrined in the
Constitution of India. Starting with National Policy on Children, 1974, the author traces
the important policy statements of our country dealing with comprehensive childhood
care and protection which have been floated from time to time and advocates that every
child must enjoy her right to protection, development, childhood and her right to
education. The author says that poor parents see education as the only redemption from
poverty and exclusion and thus are making enormous sacrifices to send their children
to schools. However, making children’s education a reality until they complete tenth
class is a great challenge in our country today.

The factors that have excluded children from participation in schools have been studied
and analyzed. The causes have been attributed to poverty of the children and their
families and their inability to support their children’s education, dependence on child’s
income by the family, poor quality education in schools and schools being inaccessible.
Hence, it requires planning for every child and at all levels of education simultaneously.
It needs a wholehearted obligation of the State and a moral voice of each of us giving

62
Jacob Aikara, “Education: Sociological perspective”, Rawat Publications, 2006
63
Shantha Sinha, “Need for National Commitment”, Yojana, November 2008.
 31

energy for state functionaries and the system to do its best. Such a wholehearted policy
means a universal coverage, making investments in children and sound institutional
care and protection for all children cutting across social and hierarchies.

Jain, L C (2008)64 has raised a fundamental question on Right to Education, that

whether the issue is really one of children’s Right to education or is it our Duty to
provide assured availability and access to educational facility to every Indian child. He
says that such a duty was enjoined upon us in resolute terms in the Directive Principles
of State Policy by the framers of the Constitution in January 1950 which although was
not enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down were nevertheless
fundamental in the governance of the country and it was, is and shall be the duty of the
State to apply these principles in making laws.

Our Founding Fathers did not call upon children to endeavour to obtain education from
the state as a matter of their Right. At least, upto the age of fourteen, the duty was cast
squarely on the state in unequivocal terms. But the state failed miserably in the
discharge of this magnificent duty despite there being a fortunately unique political
cohesion and stability in the country and having two tall and dynamic personalities like
Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad at the helm of affairs. Thus the ten-year period ticked
away without any serious ‘endeavour’ by the state expected by Article 45.

After 42nd amendment act, Education was made a concurrent subject and it did manage,
unlike the first decade, to find a mention in the budget speeches. During this period the
need for upgrading the quality of education was also stressed by Government
leadership. Nearly 40 years have passed since education was made a concurrent subject.
Yet millions of children are still out of school. Thus, the author concludes by saying
that the right of the child to education will bear fruit only if we were first to do our
bounden duty to the children and the Constitution.

Bhagat, Sharmila (2008)65 analyzed that the formal school system deprives children
and teachers of subjective experiences and a place to engage with life while playing for
the student. The standardization rule dominates the school system and leads to the

64
L C Jain, “Right to Education”, Yojana, November 2008.
65
Sharmila Bhagat, “Investing in Children”, Yojana, November 2008
 32

dismantling of the lives of learners. There is a gap between the world of books and the
living world of children. School textbooks are not synchronized with the reality that the
child lives. The conflict between these two worlds creates disadvantage.

Exam-oriented attitude towards rote learning culture and textbooks dismiss the
students’ own life world as insignificant. This domination of textbooks undermines the
role of teacher and learner and loses creative engagement with the effort to learn.
Teacher - child relationship hierarchy is limited. All children visiting the learning site
should be able to contribute to the attraction of the space through their interactions and
questions. The author therefore suggested creating a learning environment that would
invite children to share and create curriculum and content that would be sufficient to
engage the participating children, where they could express themselves sufficiently

Varma, K.K (2008)66 has argued that since India has the largest child population in the
world; Child rights need more than peripheral attention. An analysis of child related
government policies and implementation modalities to assess their impact are desirable
for natural evolution of a right perspective on child rights. Playing a catalytic role of an
encouraging network that speaks, demands, negotiates as required with relevant state
or citizen bodies for the rights of children is the need of the hour. Community
mobilization through mass media to address the root causes that leads to violation of
child rights may build awareness. Identifying, analyzing and moulding of the existing
programs and policies according to the time tested best practices are necessary for
achieving excellence. Many more such initiatives are required to lessen the miseries of
young India. The challenge is enormous and requires collective efforts. Realizing that
no one organisation, whether Government bodies or Civil Societies has the resources
and expertise to manage a problem of such great magnitude.

Rai, Vinay and Kumar, Narendra (2010)67 have participated in the on-going debate
surrounding the Right to Education Act. They have nicely summed up the salient
features of the Act, its limitations, loopholes, criticisms and challenges before it and
also the way forward as how to implement it successfully. The book can easily be called

66
KK Varma, “A National Movement”, Yojana, November 2008
67
Vinay Rai and Narendra Kumar, “Right to Education: The Way Forward”, Perfect Publications, 2010
 33

a roadmap for the successful implementation of the Act in right spirit. The authors
rightly observe that without universal education, the great Indian dream of becoming a
superpower and acquiring its rightful position on the world stage can never be realized.
They also underline the fact that the liability for the implementation of Act lies as much
on the civil society as on the government. The book draws attention to the fact that more
funds and resources have to be mobilized, special provisions be made for bringing back
the school drop-outs and child labourers and special provisions be made for
marginalised sections like Dalits, women, minorities, adivasis, etc. It welcomes some
of the innovative clauses of the Act like making it obligatory for all private schools to
reserve 25 per cent seats for members of underprivileged section. The book also
discusses the innovative idea of public-private partnership, which may help increase
the quality of education and reduce the burden on overburdened public schools. The
book carries a simple message that if we as responsible citizens want to see the
successful implementation of this Act, then we need to go beyond legislations. Parents,
teachers, civil servants, private entrepreneurs, farmers, executive officials, judiciary all
need to come together and share the burden.

Chadah, Sapna(2010)68 has discussed at length the issues and challenges involved in
implementing the Right to Education. The study begins by broadly discussing the
present education scenario of India and the International Framework on it. Tracing the
chequered history of Right to Education from 1950 when it was initially a Directive
Principle, the study thoroughly discusses the various provisions of the Act. The focus
of the study then shifts to an indepth examination of the issues that need to be addressed
like dealing with children suffering from any type of disability, the financial constraints,
availability of adequate number and adequately trained teachers, the infrastructure
issues, elimination of discrimination and other related issues. The study concludes with
a suggestion that proper and successful implementation of the Act thus requires a
complete systemic revamp.

Roy, Jayatilak Guha(2010)69 said that enacting a legislation is easier than

implementing it and therefore there are a lot of critical issues which need to be

68
Sapna Chadah, “Operationalising Right to Education Act: Issues and Challenges” The Indian Journal
of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.616-634, 2010
69
Jayatilak Guha Roy, “Right to Education: A Futuristic Perspective” The Indian Journal of Public
Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.593-597, 2010
 34

addressed before we can count Right to Education to be a success. The paper discusses
at length many core problems that flaunt our education system. To begin with, the major
issue is that of the quality of education and school infrastructure, especially in
government and municipality schools, strengthening the pre primary education system
which the Right to Education is silent about and is weak in India. Another critical issue
pertains to the strengthening the education system for the physically and mentally
challenged children. Another grey area pertains to fixing up the responsibility of
sending children to schools, which the Right to Education shifts to the parents, who are
not capable of discharging it since it is economically conducive for them to employ
their children as labourers. The paper also offers some valuable suggestions in this
regard.

Venkataiah,C. (2010)70 has shown how Right to Education has tried to address the
demand for education to be inclusive. The writer says that the Dalits, Untouchables and
other lower caste sections of the Indian population have been denied the opportunity of
access to education since centuries. This kind of exclusion is the worst form of
exclusion because it led to their exclusion from other walks of life as well. Conceived
in this background the Right to Education is creating a new hope among all, particularly
the weaker section of society that they would now be included in the national net since
the Right to Education makes it mandatory for the state to ensure all children (6 -14)
get free and compulsory primary education.

Pathi, Srinibas (2010)71 was of the view that Education system of any given society
needs regular changes and reforms in the light of emerging issues, concerns and
challenges. There have been a number of attempts at educational reforms in India after
independence. But the most vital issue that still remains to be tackled is the issue of a
real, genuine and comprehensive education reform in tune with our culture and heritage,
current needs and requirements, and future challenges and exigencies, and in the light
of this statement the paper discusses the recommendations of State Education Reforms
Commission of Mizoram, which are equally relevant for other states as well.

70
C. Venkataiah, “Right to Education: Need for an Inclusive Approach” The Indian Journal of Public
Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.575-583, 2010
71
Srinibas Pathi, “Reforms in Education: Study of Mizoram Education Reforms Commission”, The
Indian Journal of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.659-668, 2010
 35

Rao ,P.Mohan and Murthy, C.G.K.(2010)72 have highlighted that human resources
are the most precious resource of a nation, and hence education is the best investment
that a country can opt for. The paper traces the genesis of Right to Education from the
period of Indian awakening and discusses how Right to Education managed to find a
place in the constitution to finally become a right. Right to Education is basically an
enabling legislation, paving the way for an individual to enjoy other Rights and to hold
the government and the community accounTable for his rights. The paper mentions the
broad features of the Act i.e. free and compulsory primary education, adequate teacher
pupil ratio, proper infrastructure, 25% reservation for underprivileged sections of the
society in private schools, prohibiting corporal punishment, detention and expulsion.
The goals of the Right to Education and the provisions of the Act are laudable but it is
a herculean task to realize them and that without upgrading the present standards and
competencies of the teachers and without providing the required infrastructure and
facilities it is well nigh impossible to achieve the objectives of Right to Education Act.

Mukhopadhyay, Lipi (2010) 73 said that equal access to education is the foundation
for all other developmental goals. The study attempts to examine how school
environment, peers, parental care and support influence adolescent values in the early
childhood.

Bhatnagar, Deepak (2010)74 lamented that the education sector of India reflects a
dismal and distorted picture because of policy deficit in this arena. The colonial legacy
played a very destructive role, which was not redefined and corrected even after
independence. There is a need to reinvent education, modify educational policy and
improve the delivery mechanism of educational contents, with an emphasis on making
education inclusive, an equal focus, if not much on girl education, infrastructure and its
quality. He further says that if the country wants to reap the demographic dividend,
does not want to implode and have a deserving place for its human resources in the

72
P.Mohan Rao and C.G.K. Murthy, “Right to Education: Investing for a bright Future” The Indian
Journal of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.538-547, 2010
73
Lipi Mukhopadhyay, “Quality Education: Key to Good Governance” The Indian Journal of Public
Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.642-652, 2010
74
Deepak Bhatnagar, “India’s Education Scenario: A consequence of policy deficits” The Indian Journal
of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.679-694, 2010
 36

international forum, then it should initiate pragmatic policy changes in the education
sector to propel it to the desired plane.

The Hindu (2010)75 stated how India could not achieve free and compulsory Education
for all even after 60 years of independence, because it was originally a part of Directive
Principles and hence non justiciable part of the constitution and therefore failed to
evoke ample response from the Indian state. It also states that a lot of groundwork is
needed to make this right meaningful and full-fledged, aside from vast resources,
financial and human investment. It is crucial for children to see free and compulsory
education not only as a right but as a duty. Therefore, it is the duty of the state, parents
and guardians and society to ensure that all children who go to school are in school.

Dhar, T.N (2010).76 has examined the prospects of education sector in the light of the
proposed reforms in terms of quality and comprehensiveness, reach and access, equity
and coverage and its dynamic relationship with the projected human resource
development. The study begins by tracing the rich and interesting history of education
in India, starting from ancient times when education was imparted orally by the sages,
to the dark medieval period and from the enlightened British Era to the passage of the
Right to Education Act. The author then, questions as to where do we go from this
phase and draws a roadmap to it by saying that Education, freedom, better economic
status, representation and choice go together. Education is a living, interacting and a
dynamic process. It must improve human condition in all the aspects, be it economic
well being, higher incomes, good health, social cohesion, tolerance, equity, freedom
etc. its aim must be to impart universal good citizenship informed by knowledge and
must become value led and value informed and to be able to do so, philosophy, politics,
economics, science, technology and other intellectual resources, have to be harnessed
into this noble enterprise in modes of synergy.

Shrinivasan, Meera (2011)77 has drawn attention to the psychological insecurity that
has crept in the minds of people from all the sections of society because of the 25%
reservation of seats for children with underprivileged background. Although parents

75
“Making RTE work”, editorial, The Hindu, April 2, 2010
76
T.N. Dhar,” Education in India—A brief Historical Recapitulation: Where do we go from here?” The
Indian Journal of Public Administration, July-September 2010 Vol. LVI No. 3 pp.598-615 (2010)
77
Meera Shrinivasan, “Built in barriers” The Frontline, July15, 2011
 37

raise their voices against behavioral symptoms their child is likely to learns while
mixing with children from Dalit backgrounds and the long-term impact of such an
environment in later life, teachers may find concerns on handling children with different
educational credentials, atmosphere and cultural background of the home in the class .

The reason Meera opines are, first, the Indian society is a caste and class ridden society,
second people donot have faith in the public schools and hence she advocates for the
strengthening of government school system in India.

Kasturi, Charu Sudan(2010)78 has highlighted the activism of the National

Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), India's apex body for the
implementation of the Right to Education Act. Section 36 of the Act requires the state
governments to appoint designated local authorities, who alone are empowered to
sanction prosecution of school or government officials for corporal punishment,
conducting screening tests or running unrecognised schools. But very few states and
the Union Territories have notified the rules accompanying the Act. NCPCR has
questioned the absence of a clear grievance redressal structure for the law. Even as a
year has passed since the law came into effect, the NCPCR, cites sluggishness on the
part of most state governments that have failed to notify key rules to implement it. The
NCPCR has also proposed guidelines for a redressal mechanism to the human resource
development (HRD) ministry, which are being currently examined by the law ministry.

Mallica Joshi (2011)79 has narrated a case study of a six year old child Dev Ashish
who wants to go to school but is being denied admission even in the Delhi government-
run Sarvodaya Vidyalaya. The Right to Education Act says that every child in the age
group of 6 -14 years will be provided eight years of elementary education in an age-
appropriate classroom in his/her neighbourhood. It also says that no child will be denied
admission for want of documents and completion of the admission cycle in the school.
However, Dev's parents and his paternal uncle have been running from pillar-to-post
for his admission, but to no avail. No one is willing to give them even an admission
form over one technicality or the other. Despite the fact that the child has his birth
certificate, the principal is refusing him admission in Class 1, saying he is too old. Dev’s

78
Charu Sudan Kasturi, “RTE watchdog seeks redressal mechanism” Hindustan Times, New Delhi, April
01, 2011
79
Mallica Joshi, “At 6, too old for school” Hindustan Times, New Delhi, March 27, 2011
 38

parents have written letters to the education chief secretary, met the district deputy
director of the Directorate of Education, but to no avail.

HT correspondent (2011)80 reports that despite the enactment of the Right to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009, most schools are charging admission fees for pre-
primary education. They are also interviewing parents and / or children as claimed by
the PIL. The NGO filed a petition alleging that private schools should implement Right
to Education legislation and dismantle its rules and guidelines.

Many schools have received complaints from parents who interviewed them and asked
questions about their family income, their owned vehicles, income certificates, PAN
card details and the size of their flats. One school also asked parents to earn a role.
Evacuation certificate from the local police station. Most schools have demanded
donations at the time of admission to pre-primary and parents have contacted
authorities, but the latter have been unable to take any action on the matter.

Chavan, Prajakta (2011)81 has highlighted the case where an NGO, Forum for
Fairness in Education, served a legal notice to Mumbai state demanding it to cancel all
the recently held pre-primary admissions and implement the Right to Education Act,
2009, in totality. The NGO is also planning to file a public interest litigation if the state
does not reply to the notice in the next 15 days. According to the act, children belonging
to weaker sections and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood should be provided
free and compulsory elementary education and should form at least 25% of the class,
but the NGO says that the private institutes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
were flouting the norms and guidelines of the Right to Education Act. The Centre
announced the Right to Education Act in 2009, but the state government implemented
only selected clauses of the act. At the same time the Act says no school or person shall,
while admitting a child, collect any capitation fee and subject the child or his or her
parents or guardian to any screening procedure, but the provision seems to be violated
every now and then.

“ Parents interviewed during pre-primary admissions: PIL”, Hindustan Times, April 09, 2011
80

81
Prajakta Chavan, “Implement right to education in letter and spirit in schools”, Hindustan Times,
February 11, 2011
 39

Sarangapani, Padma (2011)82 highlighted that teachers are the kingpin of the entire
education system and that it has an important responsibility to ensure the effective
implementation of the Right to Education Act and the complexity, diversity and
complexity of today's climate. In schools today, this responsibility increases. Current
teacher training and educational programs are insufficient to meet contemporary
understanding of student needs. Given the importance of this link, the state's continued
reluctance to respond to the issue is ridiculous, which could be achieved in five years,
with the eligibility to target the Right to Education. This means that the quality of the
teacher's education is compromised.

Prakash, Satya (2011)83 told how after Right to Food, the Supreme Court has taken up
the issue of Right to Education to ensure that every government-run school in India has
requisite number of teachers, potable water, toilets, safe building and other such
facilities for students by ordering all the district collectors and magistrates to submit a
report in this regard within four weeks to the chief secretary/ administrator of their
respective state/union territory, who in turn have been directed to file a comprehensive
affidavit before it within six weeks. The court wanted to have comprehensive
information regarding basic facilities such as potable/drinking water, separate toilets
for boys and girls, electricity, boundary walls, mid-day meal facility and availability of
requisite number of teachers in primary schools.

Sadgopal, Anil(2011)84 has narrated the celebrated case of Dr. Anandakumaram,

District Collector of Erode, who went to a government school, stood in the queue with
other parents and got his daughter admitted in the school and told the headmistress that
his daughter would take mid day meal served in the school rather than bringing Tiffin
from home. The writer highlights that such an act should act as a catalyst and if all those
on the government payrolls, the MPs, MLAs, Officers, teachers and Ministers start
getting their children admitted to the government schools, it is bound to bring about
two revolutionary changes.

82
Padma Sarangapani, “Teachers First” The Frontline, July15, 2011
83
Satya Prakash, “Now, SC takes up RTE cause”, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, February 10, 2011
84
Anil Sadgopal, “Noeliberal Act” The Frontline, July15, 2011
 40

First, such an expression of trust by the powerful elite section of the society itself is
likely to set the entire government schooling system on a decisive course of recovery
to its heydays, and thereby not only the allocation to education sector would increase
but also problems like inadequate infrastructure, Teacher absenteeism, lack of teaching
material, ill trained and untrained para-teachers, unfavorable teacher-pupil ratio etc are
likely to disappear because the children of the ruling class and their beneficiaries would
be studying there. Secondly, as a logical outcome, the trend of privatization and
commercialization of education is likely to be checked because of the shrinking market
as the children from affluent sections would be studying in the government schools.

Ghosh, Jayati (2011)85 stated that even after six decades of independence, education
is different in qualitative and quantitative terms. There are huge differences in access
to education by space, economic class, social group and gender, which cannot be
simplified to public versus private. The difference in school quality can have a
significant impact not only on the quality of education, but also on the chances of
entering higher education and other opportunities for socioeconomic advancement. All
of this is critically dependent on public funding, since we can ensure quality
infrastructure, adequate and adequately trained teachers, other facilities and teaching
support. To ensure the adequate quality of education, this system is essential not only
for all children but also for the significant expansion of resources to enhance the quality
of education.

Chauhan, Chetan(2011)86 has summarized the mixed bag of results that the Right to
Education has received since it was introduced. According to the studies by different
civil society groups, dropout rate in many schools is still high, but there has been a
slight improvement in new enrolments. The law even provides for free education till
class 7 level; it was found that many schools still seek admission fees. In Bihar, 97%
of the schools claim that they provide free and compulsory education, but 27% still
charge fee. And, 46% schools do not provide any one of the free learning material
(textbooks, notebooks, bags and uniform) in Bihar. Another problem in most schools is

85
Jayati Ghosh, “Funding, The Key”, The Frontline, July15, 2011
86
Chetan Chauhan, “A year on, RTE has a long way to go”, Hindustan Times, March 31, 2011
 41

hygiene. Drinking water is not available in half of the schools in Jharkhand, one-fifth
in Bihar, one-tenth in Rajasthan and UP.

Suri, Shipra (2011)87 draws attention to the ‘no fail’ approach of the Right to Education
Act, which states that any child from 1st to 8th grade is irrespective of how bad or bad
the test is - education. Under the Authority (Right to Education) Act, it is mandatory
for all students to pass up to the middle class. Although various state governments
believe that this increases the literacy rate and benefits unorganized students, many
educators and parents believe that this will reduce the level of education in public
schools. Although the no-fail policy is meant to get students enthused about learning
rather than simply excelling in exams, parents and school authorities feel the policy
may not work on the ground. Some teachers believe that children will now be promoted
without any qualitative check.

Many educationists also share the same view that the standard of education was “not
upto the mark” in most government schools and this move would only lower it. Parents
are also unsure about how the policy would benefit students and feel that learning to
deal with failure is incredibly important in life. Similar case studies have also been
highlighted by Variyar, Mugdha (2012)88 where the suicide of a Class 9 student in
Trombay, allegedly owing to academic pressure, has restarted the debate about the no-
fail policy of the Right to Education (Right to Education) Act. In 2010, the Right to
Education Act declared that no child can be held back in any class or expelled from
school till the completion of elementary education (from Class 1 to Class 8). The case
highlights that the no-fail policy destroys the habit of regular studying among students
till Class 8, and the pressure builds up in Class 9 in anticipation of the board exams.
The shift to a competitive environment after Class 8 puts a lot of pressure.

Bhargava , Pushpa M(2012)89 has presented various case studies narrating what has
happened or is happening, in contrast to what should have happened if the Act were
implemented in letter and spirit. She points out how the various provisions of the Right
to Education Act are been flouted in private as well as government schools. She

87
Shipra Suri, “Doubts over success of 'no-fail' policy”, Hindustan Times, April 03, 2011
88
Mugdha Variyar, ‘No-fail policy, lack of help leading to problems’, Hindustan Times, Mumbai, July
25, 2012
89
Pushpa M Bhargava, "Sibal’s RTE Act is just not working” Perspective, The Tribune, March 18, 2012
 42

illustrates saying that as per the Act the admissions in private schools should be
conducted only through lotteries or some equivalent random process of selection to
avoid discrimination, however, According to the New Indian Express, Hyderabad,
managements of virtually all private schools in Hyderabad are flouting this norm and
conducting tests for both parents and children and are also demanding capitation fees.
The situation in the government schools is no far better and virtually all government
schools lack even basic facilities like chairs, benches, drinking water, a good building,
enough rooms and teachers. Discussing some of the findings reported in the Annual
Status of Education Report 2011, the author highlights the outcomes of our education
system. Some 71 per cent of the students of Class VIII in the rural schools of Andhra
Pradesh cannot divide, 42 per cent of them cannot subtract, and 55 per cent cannot even
read a Class II Text Book and less than a third of class III students in rural Indian
schools can solve simple two-digit subtraction problems. There has also been an
alarming decline in mathematical skills, in the number of children in Class V that are
able to read Class II books and thus concludes by saying that we need a new Right to
Education Act, which would be implementable and in the interest of all the citizens of
the country.

The Hindu (2012)90 has demonstrated how our system remains deeply unjust. Access
to excellence is open only to those who can afford it, while the less affluent majority
has been left behind without even full schooling. This injustice is evident in the low
figure of mean years of schooling for the national working age population: 5.12 years
in 2010, compared to China's 8.17 years, and Brazil's 7.54 years. It also advocates that
meaningful use of the Right to Education requires new infrastructure and adequate
human resources and identifies the twin problems of half a million existing teacher
vacancies, and the need to have another half a million teachers with requisite
qualifications to meet the Right to Education Act's pupil-teacher ratio and says that
priority must therefore be accorded to start as many accredited teacher training
institutions as necessary. Such a measure will improve learning outcomes, which are
far below desirable levels now. Raising the gross enrolment ratio at the secondary
school level from 60 per cent should be the other priority and concludes that by

90
“The ABCs of RTE”, editorial, The Hindu, March 14, 2012.
 43

implementing Right to Education in letter and spirit India has a historic opportunity to
elevate education as the strongest pillars of its future development.

Azim Premji Foundation91 has analysed how it took us 55 years from Independence
to make education a fundamental right of children and a further six years for the Right
to Education Bill to be introduced in the Parliament. The paper analyses the strengths
and weaknesses of the Right to Education Act. To begin with, instead of merely shifting
the onus on the parents, the Act makes the state responsible for the education of every
child. Next, private participation, maintaining minimum teacher pupil ratio, provision
of adequate infrastructure are some of the major strengths of the Act. The Act is
however not free from limitations. The Act needs to bring into its ambit all children in
the age group of three to sixteen. Also, The Act fails to guarantee that a child has
acquired competencies deriving from said education process. No standards are set for
measuring learning outcomes. The Bill draws no attention on the existing shortcomings
of the institutional structures, teachers’ training and innovation. The Act admittedly has
shortcomings and there are some who say that it is wholly inadequate. Given that the
Right to Education has traveled a long and arduous journey, the Act, even in its present
form must continue despite its shortcomings. Amendments to it could be sought through
concerted effort by education practitioners, civil society and parliamentarians to
address gaps and fortify its strengths.

The Tribune (2012)92 has highlighted that teachers are the backbone of the entire
education system and draws attention to the fact that even at the end of two years of the
implementation of the Right to Education (Right to Education) Act, the country is far
from achieving the target for teacher-pupil ratio, which is, two teachers for every 60
students in primary and one per 35 students in secondary classes in rural schools. While
nationally only 40.7 per cent of the schools in villages have achieved the target, Punjab
is much worse at 30.4 per cent, and Uttarakhand even lower at 16.3 per cent. J&K, on
the other hand, despite being a troubled state is much better, having achieved the target
in 87.5 per cent of the rural schools and says that the reason for rural schools not getting
teachers is that most of them try getting posted to towns and cities by using all sorts of
unfair means. The author thus concludes by forwarding a concrete suggestion that if we

91
Azim Premji Foundation, www.azimpremjifoundation.org, Accessed on 21st February 2012
92
“RTE in rural India”, editorial, The Tribune,April 4, 2012
 44

want to change the entire structure, then it is important to change the foundation. For a
country that has its masses in the villages, that foundation would be in the rural areas
and hence adequate attention should be paid to equitable distribution of education
resources.

Khaliq, Abdul (2012)93 has paid much attention to the fine print of the Right to
Education Act and highlights the major weaknesses of the Landmark Act. The author
noted that the law does not address the long-term consequences of the revolutionary
provision that provides for 25% reservation for children of the underprivileged. The
first big unanswered question concerns the fate of the underprivileged children as they
complete their primary education in high schools.

Clearly, these children will have to leave these schools and return to schools of
questionable standards, which is emotionally traumatic. Second, factors such as the
quality of education, infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and drinking water and toilet
facilities in public schools were also questioned. Subsequently, the most ambiguous
aspect of the Right to Education Act concerns the quality of teaching. The shocking
aspect of our important, lifelong elementary education is that in our six million villages,
teaching children is rarely in the hands of educated teachers. Clearly, the Right to
Education Act places little emphasis on teaching standards, which is a major flaw in
our education system.and hence the author sums up saying that the Right to Education
Act in its present form will neither promote its prime objective of ensuring completion
of elementary education of every child of the age 6 to 14 years nor meet the commitment
of ensuring quality primary education and at best, it is just a statement of good intent.

The Tribune (2012)94 has analysed the reasons as to why in Haryana the dropout rate
has grown alarmingly after the implementation of the Right to Education Act and the
dream associated with the ambitious Right to Education Act of bringing in the poor to
share the common dream of quality education for children - two years after its
implementation still remains elusive for the poor. The author says that instead of
imposing the vague concept of education on the children of the poor to show improved
statistics, work should first be done to improve their living conditions, For children who

93 “
An education act with more wrongs than rights”, editorial, The Hindu, July 27, 2012
94 “
No charity, please! Education is a social commitment”, editorial, The Tribune,, September 10, 2012
 45

loose the earning members of their family, concerns of survival precede the concerns
of education.

The Hindu (2012)95 has illustrated the reluctance of private sector to implement the
provisions pertaining to reserving of seats for underprivileged sections. The backlash
to the law has been in the form of closures and protests. It narrates the case of a school
in Bangalore which has publicly opposed the equity objectives of the Right to Education
Act and has -subjected disadvantaged students to a deeply stigmatizing kind of
discrimination by cutting a lock of their hair to segregate them from other children in
the class. These children have apparently not been entered in the regular attendance
rolls either and hence, the Bangalore incident makes it clear that laws alone are not
enough, and that strong determination is essential to break barriers down. Societal
commitment through active vigilance and well-functioning supervisory institutions are
vital to make the Right to Education Act work.

Sankaranarayanan, Aruna(2012)96 was of the view that the government's intention

to engineer a social revolution by Right to Education is if there are problems with the
provision of infrastructure, enhancing teacher quality and promoting education in
public schools. Addressed as a community, we must work together to achieve academic
excellence in both public and private. We cannot ignore the fact that private teachers
and government must work synergistically to unravel the shackles of our tightly
stratified society, and that both public and private needs a radical change in our
education system.

Using a report published by McKinsey and Company as a base the author highlights
the reasons for some school systems in the world to rank high in an international
assessments of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving. Top performing countries
included Belgium, Finland, Japan, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore and South
Korea. While the countries sported vast differences, both culturally and politically,
three factors regarding their education systems were common to all high performing
nations.

95
“Strengthen the melting pot” editorial, The Hindu, July 19, 2012
96
“Beyond the Right to Education lies a school of hard knocks”, editorial, The Hindu, April 17, 2012
 46

First, a teaching job in these countries, unlike in India, is a high-status profession. In

addition to receiving salaries comparable to other well-paying jobs, teacher training
courses are highly selective and admit only the cream of graduates. Second, teachers
are provided intensive training and new recruits are mentored on the job. Third, in the
top-performing countries, schools try to offer the best possible education for every child
by supporting those who lag behind. These schools monitor student performance
closely and intervene when children fall behind by employing special educators who
are trained in remedial instruction.

The Tribune (2012)97 has opined that audit of any expenditure is done best if you
assess the benefit from the money spent rather than how the money was spent. Keeping
this goal in mind the Union HRD Ministry is working on starting “Learning outcome”
Tests. This new “Learning outcome” test shall differ from conventional “exams” in that
they assess the “literacy” level in relation to reading, mathematics and science as an
applied knowledge, rather than curriculum-based learning — essentially, the
knowledge the child would take with him to face the world. The test results would be a
reflection on the entire education system, which would include the hardware such as
classrooms and blackboards, and the content — the syllabus, curriculum, teaching
methodology, etc.

Tandon, Aditi (2012)98 has reported about the status of implementation of Right to
Education in the state of J&K, and highlights how Jammu and Kashmir is struggling to
match its northern counterparts on basic school infrastructure. The Act sets a deadline
of March 31, 2013, for states to ensure that the elementary schools under their
jurisdiction have minimum facilities, including toilets, playgrounds and boundary
walls. But in J&K, where the Right to Education Act does not apply as it was enacted
under entry 25 of the Concurrent List of the Constitution (which does not hold in J&K),
the progress on school infrastructure indicators is the poorest in the North. The latest
(2010-11) district-level school statistics collated by the ministry and the National

97
“Time to audit outcome of education”, editorial, The Tribune, August 7, 2012
98
Aditi Tandon, “School upgrade: With no RTE deadlines to meet, J&K fares worst in North”, The
Tribune, August 12, 2012
 47

University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA) reveal a grim picture

of infrastructure in 27,095 elementary schools surveyed across 22 districts of J&K.

The Hindu (2012)99 has pointed out how the “no detention” feature of the Right to
Education Act could pave the way for a further fall in standards till the time issues like
comprehensive and continuous evaluation, teacher-pupil ratio, training of the teacher,
all weather classrooms are addressed and that the objective of education is to produce
all-round development of children, besides equipping them with life skills. It would be
a folly to reduce the process to mere clearing of annual examinations.

Tribune (2012)100 has reported that even though the Right to Education Act mandates
the reservation of 25 per cent of entry-level seats for disadvantaged children, none of
Gurgaon’s schools has made any declaration about this reservation or invited
applications for it, and none of the schools has either submitted any declaration to the
local authorities specifying the number of entry level seats, reserved ones, criterion of
this reservations, age of admission and process of admission or issued a public
advertisement for Right to Education-reserved seats and sought any applications.

R. Suresh (2013)101 collated the data by the non-governmental organisation Pratham,

levels of reading and maths ability at every level are not only poor but are declining in
many States. He finds that private school enrolment in rural India is increasing at about
10 per cent a year and at this rate the private sector will soon become the major
education provider in the country. Although the learning gap between government
schools and private schools is widening, the study says there is a national crisis in
learning that permeates all schools.

Dhankar, R (2016) 102 highlights the contradiction between an outmoded authoritarian

system and a more enlightened idea of education is reflected in the clamour for the
removal of the no detention policy. He argues that while educationists are right that
failing children does not make them good learners, they are wrong to think that

99
“Better system for better results” editorial, The Hindu, June 12, 2012
100
“Gurgaon schools not offering RTE quota seats to poor”, Tribune News Service, 7 September, 2012
101
Sresh R, “Education: A report Card”, The Frontline, Feb 22, 2013
102
R. Dhankar,“Beyond the pass-fail binary” editorial, The Hindu, Sep 06, 2016
 48

education can be completed just by automatic promotion to the next class. The idea that
children drop out because of failure is actually wrong; they do because of non-learning
and failure is just the last straw on the proverbial camel’s back. In such a situation the
only thing the no detention policy can ensure is the pretence of completing elementary
education without any real learning.

Mahaprashasta, A(2016)103 highlights how sluggish growth in literacy rates,

inadequate infrastructure, shortage of teaching staff and schools and colleges, and
limited access to education in rural areas are some of the problems that need immediate
attention and says that the need of the hour is to strengthen the public education system,
with the focus on making quality education accessible to the majority of the people.
Experts feel that at a time when the basic structure of the education system—right from
the primary school to the higher education level—needs a significant budgetary push,
the sole focus on vocational training seems more like an apology for a Budget.

Prasad, M (2016)104 notes that successive governments have failed to meet their
constitutional obligations in the field of education and have, instead, systematically
deprived, then disparaged and now demolished state-run schools, and this has had the
effect of reinforcing rather than removing class, caste and gender inequalities.

Katakam, Anupam(2016)105 in The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2014

reports are perhaps the most credible assessments of the basic learning skills and
enrolments in schools. The ASER survey in 2014-15 found a marked improvement in
the State’s education indicators. It says the reading ability in all classes (I-VII) in
government schools has shown progress. Additionally, the report says basic and
foundational skills in arithmetic improved in 2015 in both government and private
schools although the all-India average for knowledge of numbers and basic arithmetic
operations such as subtraction and division has remained low. In government schools,
the survey found that the percentage of children in Class V who could do subtraction
and division increased from 38.6 in 2014 to 46.8 in 2015. While the ASER report has
been laudatory, the DISE, which uses non-academic criteria in its assessment, says in

103
A Mahaprashasta “Partial vision ” The Frontline, April 01,2016
104
M Prasad, “Public education in the marketplace” The Frontline, Jul 08,2016
105
Anupam Katakam “Partial success” The Frontline, Jul 08,2016
 49

its 2014-15 report that 80,000 pupils attend single-teacher schools in Maharashtra and
that an estimated 37 per cent of the teachers at the primary and upper primary levels are
not graduates. The Right to Education Act stipulates that upper primary school teachers
should be graduates.

Sriram, J (2016)106 notes that Boosting school infrastructure and teacher training is
essential for Right to Education to deliver greater equity. He says that while enrolment
has been a success, school completion rates remain abysmal. According to a 2015
Brookings Institute report on primary education in India, 29 per cent of children drop
out before completing five years of primary school, and 43 per cent before finishing
upper primary school. High school completion, according to the report, is only 42 per
cent. India’s dropout trends also raise troubling questions about equity: there is a huge
difference between urban and rural education, and the education received by the rich
and the poor. He says it is important to recognise, that about 70 per cent of India’s
students study in government school and fixing this system - in term of improving
infrastructure, teacher quality and targeted learning for children from disadvantaged
groups - should be the first step in building a more equitable system.

Sangai, A, (2016)107highlights that Article 21A recognises the right of all children aged
between 6 and 14 to free and compulsory elementary education. The Right to Education
Act operationalises this right by elucidating supporting rights, identifying the duty-
bearers and establishing administrative structures to enforce these rights. The generic
scope of right to education seems to conflict with the specific contexts of the rights of
minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice under
Article 30. That right, however, is not absolute. Freedom to ‘administer’ a school cannot
include ‘mal-administering’ it. Regulations for maintaining academic standards,
ensuring proper infrastructure, health and sanitation, etc. could be imposed on minority
schools as well. Further, a government-aided minority school cannot discriminate
against students on grounds of religion, race, caste, language in the matters of their
admission (Article 29(2)).

106
J Sriram, “Empowering the Right to Education”, The Hindu, Dec14, 2016
107
A Sangai, “Harmonising RTE with minority schools”, The Hindu, Jul 06, 2016
 50

Das, R (2016)108While free and compulsory education for all children below the age of
14 has been a constitutional imperative for the government for the last 64 years, it is a
matter of fact (and shame) that successive governments have not achieved this yet. The
most concerted effort to bring about a legal framework to ensure free and compulsory
education for all was made with the introduction of Article 21A and passage of the
Right to Education.

Bhargava ,Y (2017)109reports that the Niti Aayog has called for a review of the
provisions of the Right To Education Act that stipulate that children who don’t perform
well cannot be held back up to class VIII. Aayog said the good intention behind the
norm is detrimental to the learning process. The Aayog pointed out that the purpose
behind this provision is to minimise the drop-out rate, since demoralisation resulting
from failing a class leads to children withdrawing from school altogether. But despite
this good intention, the provision has a detrimental effect on learning outcomes, since
it takes away the pressure to learn and to compete.

Prasad, Madhu (2019)110opines that the draft National Education Policy 2019
systematically evades the Constitution’s focus on social justice in educational
institutions. It seeks to have power concentrated in an overpowering authority in order
to keep the deception of having generated a level playing field within a fundamentally
unequal, unjust and discriminatory social system.

Kumar, Krishna (2019)111 opines that the Right to Education Act, 2009 is a long way
off from becoming a social reality due to the reluctance to enforce many of its
provisions. What has suffered the most is the autonomy and dignity of teachers, which
form the core of this law’s approach.

Bose, Sukanya (2019)112 narrates that in the context of the Right to Education, it is
essential that the government lays down a clear financial road map based on a normative

108
R Das, “Right to Education: neither free nor compulsory” The Hindu, Sep 02, 2016
109
Y Bhargava, “Niti Aayog calls for review of RTE Act”, The Hindu, Jan 12, 2017
110
Madhu Prasad, “NEP 2019: The devil in the detail” The Frontline, Jul 19,2019
111
Krishan Kumar, “Dilution of the Right to Education Act”, Economic and political weekly, Vol. 54,
Issue No. 14, 06 Apr, 2019
112
Sukanya Bose, “What Does the Right to Education Need to Achieve?” Economic and political weekly
, Vol. 54, Issue No. 18, 04 May, 2019
 51

framework with clearly stated and transparent norms that apply equitably, recognises
the unequal financial position of the states and the crucial role of the centre in forging
long-run development goals, and approaches finance in relation to social policy.

Kundu, Pravin (2019)113 stresses that the role of government school teachers in India
is being questioned because of the deteriorating learning levels of children. There is
constant criticism of teachers’ performance on the grounds that despite paying high
salaries to teachers, children are not performing well in examinations because the
majority of teachers are not competent enough. The performance of teachers needs to
be judged on the basis of factors like their training, working conditions, and, above all,
resource allocation by the government.

Since teacher salaries occupy the largest share of education budget, Protiva Kundu
writes that teachers are constantly criticised for children faring poorly in school.
However, Kundu argues that the focus of criticism should be towards the state: poor
allocation of funds for teacher training has failed to better teacher education, and state-
sponsored measures such as in-service teacher training are only half-measures.

Making teachers solely accountable for the poor quality of education in government
schools is not only unfair, but also demotivating. Controlling teacher salaries will
certainly not guarantee accountability. Rather, there is a pressing need to address the
issue of teacher shortage by recruiting a cadre of qualified teachers. Improvement in
learning outcomes can only be expected if states allocate a substantial amount of
resources in building the infrastructure for teacher training and for the training of
trainers. In the absence of progressive changes in school education, the potential
demographic advantage may just turn into a major liability.

Mishra, Naina (2020)114 advocates that all students are equal, but some are more equal
than others as they are promoted to the next class regardless of the result following the
no detention policy introduced through the Right to Education Act for children

113
Pravin Kundu, “Are Teachers Responsible? Deteriorating Quality of Education in Schools”, The
Tribune, Vol. 54, Issue No. 24, 15 Jun, 2019

114
Naina Mishra, “No detention policy — A disincentive for everyone”, Tribune News Service, February
4
 52

belonging to economically weaker sections of society. It has apparently proved to be a

disincentive, not just for beneficiaries but other students as well.

More than a decade after the chapter on making education a fundamental right was
opened through the enactment of the Right to Education Act, the quality of education
has, on the face of it, suffered because of the policy. The fear of flunking is not a driving
force for more than a few EWS students as they know they will be promoted to the next
class regardless of their performance in the classroom and the examinations. For others,
watching some of their class fellows being promoted without studying is the first lesson
in discrimination they learn.

Bhakoo, Shivani (2020)115 narrates that the basic objective of the Right to Education
Act, 2009, is that every child from the age of 6 to 14 years shall get free and compulsory
education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education. However,
owing to a lack of awareness and will on the part of respective schools, the weaker
sections and disadvantaged groups are not able to get the benefit of this right to
education.

Mishra, Naina (2020)116 opines that the decade-old Right to Education Act has
virtually opened a chapter on scams in the academic history of the city with fake EWS
applications being submitted to schools by well-off residents seeking free education for
their children. They come in cars and have their own houses, but also carry a self-
declaration document on their “poverty” status.

There have been speculations on whether provisions of the Right to Education Act are
reaching the targeted population or are being taken advantage of by persons faking
EWS status. Private schools have been claiming that EWS seats are being grabbed by
non-EWS students, thus denying the rightful claimants of the seats, as also negating the
purpose of the Right to Education.

Shivani Bhakoo, “RTE Act benefit eludes poor”, Tribune News Service, March 12, 2020
115

Naina Mishra, “Is self-certification as proof of income giving rise to scams?” Tribune News Service,
116

Feb 7, 2020
 53

Prem Chowdhry (2020)117 says that education is widely recognised as the gateway to
economic security and opportunity, particularly for girls and women. One is hoping that
a recent news report that the Haryana government, after closing 2,502 government
schools in the last three years, may well close another 1,026 primary schools which
have less than 25 students, does not become a reality. Instead of closing these down,
the government should take steps to ensure the attendance of the girls.

The recently released Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2019, based on a
survey conducted in 26 districts across 24 states in India, covering over 36,000 children
in the age-group of four-eight years, concludes that deficiencies in India’s pre-primary
school system are resulting in a learning crisis. This is especially true of girls’
education. In 6 out of the 24 states, it found only 25 per cent or less of girls in rural
areas to be literate. An inherent gender bias in the rural society against female education
is regarded as the main reason for not getting females enrolled in schools. It also
observes that when it comes to education, parents prefer private schools for the
education of boys and government schools for girls, if at all.

1.4.2 MATRIX SHOWING CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The literature reviewed from the books, journals, thesis, newspapers, reports and
websites etc. can be summarized in the following matrix:

117
Prem Chawdhary, “Invest in education for girls to reduce poverty”, Tribune News Service, Feb 11,
2020
 54

Table 1.2: Matrix showing classification and analysis of review of literature

Theme Essence of analysis Authors

The studies have analysed the importance of Allavi, Ziauddin

general education in man’s life in the age of (1963)
specialization and explosion of knowledge Singh, Karan
and have highlighted that education must be (2002)
given priority over everything in the Ghosh, Bhaskar
development policy. (2005)
Rao , P.Mohan and
The studies highlight the importance of
Murthy,
acknowledging the multiple dimensions of the
C.G.K.(2010)
human personality and advocate that special
Mukhopadhyay,
attention must be paid to value oriented
Lipi (2010)
education. The studies highlight that human
Haan, Allyn and
resources are the most precious resource of a
Importance of Bacon (1961)
nation, and hence education is the best
education in Bebby, C.E (1966)
investment that a country can opt for.
civilization and
development
The studies also share a perspective that equal
access to education is the foundation for all
other developmental goals and suggest that
India needs to grow and experiment in the
field of education so as to prepare itself for the
future needs.

The studies highlight that more emphasis

should be laid on the qualitative aspect of
education, teacher training and modified
curricula should be adapted to the levels of
both teachers and children in the school
system.
 55

Highlighting the importance of good Sharma, Ram

administration and finances, the studies argue Sarup (1972)
that administrative and financial problems of Misra, Atmanand
Administrative
elementary education adversely affect the (1971)
and financial
growth and development of education and Chaudhri, Sonali
problems
hamper the implementation of free primary (1999)
education.

The studies have traced the origin of the Kaur, Kuldip

education system in India and have traced the (1985)
development, growth and implementation of Jha, S.N. (1985)
recommendations of various committees, the Birdi, H.S. (1989)
reforms in the education sector in the last fifty Dhar, T.N (2010).
Origin and
years in our country. Ratan, V. Luxmi
development of
(2003)
education
Additionally, these studies have critically
system in our
surveyed the progress and development in
country
education covering pre and post independence
periods and have pleaded that education
should inculcate socialistic, secular and
democratic values among students.

The studies have underpinned the effect of Seth, Poonam

Impact of
parental interaction and educational (1989)
family,
qualification of teachers for optimizing the World Bank Policy
teachers and
integrated development of children. The Paper (1990)
teaching aids
studies trace the relation between teaching Jean Dreze and
on child’s
aids and teaching methods on the quality of Amartya Sen
development
education and argue that children’s learning is (2002)
 56

a function of family background, teaching Sarangapani,

learning environment and school inputs. Padma (2011)

The studies have looked at the inter linkages Pathak, Avijit

between education, society and economy. (2002)
Socio- Studies of education in relation to the various Chauhan, C.P.S.
economic societal factors that affect and in turn get (2002)
linkages affected by the social institutions of education Aikara, Jacob
have been done. (2006)

The studies have thoroughly examined and The Hindu (2012)

evaluated the implementation of the no Dhankar, R (2016)
detention feature of the Act. The studies Bhargava ,Y
reflect that the no detention policy has been (2017)
successful in making elementary education Mishra, Naina
No detention
stress free, and has also led to the reduction in (2020)
system
the drop out rate of education but on the flip Kutubbuddin
side, it has led to the deterioration in the Halder
quality of learning as there is no fear of pass Suri, Shipra (2011)
fail in the examination. Variyar, Mugdha
(2012)
The importance of education of the girl child Shekhar, Madhu R.
has been highlighted by various studies and (2001)
has been widely recognised as the gateway to Prem Chowdhry
economic security and opportunity, (2020)
Education and particularly for girls and women.
girl child
It has been advocated that investment in
education for girls is the best way to reduce
poverty.
 57

The studies have traced the genesis of right to Rai, Vinay and
education from the period of Indian Kumar, Narendra
awakening and how the right to education (2010)
finally managed to find a place in the Chadah,
Constitution to finally become a Fundamental Sapna(2010)
Right. There have been abundant studies in Roy, Jayatilak
the last one decade that have exhaustively Guha(2010)
analysed the essence of the RTE Act, Venkataiah,C.
thoroughly examined its provisions, (2010)
limitations and the salient features, and the Shrinivasan, Meera
challenges in its successful implementation (2011)
and also the way forward as how to implement Kasturi, Charu
it successfully Sudan(2010)
Chavan, Prajakta
The studies are also suggestive in nature by
Genesis and (2011)
advocating the need for an inclusive approach
analysis of the Mallica Joshi
and in implementing the right to education in
RTE Act (2011)
letter and spirit in schools and call for a
Prakash, Satya
national commitment in its implementation.
(2011)
Sadgopal, Anil
(2011)
Chauhan, Chetan
(2011)
Bhargava, Pushpa
M (2012)
The Hindu (2012)
Azim Premji
Foundation
The Tribune (2012)
Tandon, Aditi
(2012)
 58

R. Suresh (2013)
Das, R (2016)
Katakam, Anupam
(2016)
Kumar, Krishna
(2019)
Bose, Sukanya
(2019)
Jain, L C (2008)
Sinha, Shantha
(2008)
Khaliq, Abdul
(2012)
These studies have highlighted the sorry state Ghosh, Jayati
of education in our country even after seven (2011)
decades of independence and share a The Tribune (2012)
perspective that the existing education Bhatnagar, Deepak
scenario in India is a consequence of policy (2010)
deficits. Govinda, R. (2005)
Bhagat, Sharmila
The studies have also highlighted that the
Existing state (2008)
quality of education is suffering because of
of education in Thangamuthu, C.
expansion due to International and National
our country (2001)
pressures and the focus on numbers rather
Kundu, Pravin
than quality.
(2019)

Studies have also analyzed that the existing The Tribune (2012)
formal school system deprives children and Gupta, B.R.(1973)
teachers of subjective experiences and a Varma, K.K (2008)
platform to engage with life. Mukherjee, Kartick
C (1971)
 59

The studies have also discussed some of the Raza, Moonis

educational problems from a comparative, (1986)
cross cultural perspective. Govinda, R(2002)
Prasad, Madhu
The studies have examined the present set up
(2019)
of educational administration, the multiplicity
of agencies and diverse disciplines that are
found in the educational system and said that
it is not serving adequately and it is not much
different from general administration since it
is also bureaucratic and is characterized by red
tape, political interference, hierarchy, rigid
rules, regulations and such similar drawbacks.
The present hierarchical set up and approach
in administration leaves no scope for mutual
communication between various levels.

The studies call for reforms in education Sriram, J (2016)

sector and highlight that school infrastructure Prasad, M (2016)
and teacher training is essential for right to Pathi, Srinibas
education to deliver greater equity, and that (2010)
Educational
the need of the hour is to strengthen the public
Reforms
education system, with the focus on making
quality education accessible to the majority of
the people.

The studies have captured the reluctance of Sangai, A, (2016)

Minorities, private sector to implement the provisions Hausain, Zakir
underprivileged pertaining to reserving of seats for (2005)
and the RTE underprivileged sections. The Tribune (2012)
The Hindu (2012)
 60

Additionally, the studies put up a perspective

on harmonising RTE with minority schools
and have analysed the demand for primary
education in the Muslim community.

Hurdles and roadblocks in the effective Bhakoo, Shivani

implementation of the RTE Act and in (2020)
achieving the target of universalisation of Zachariah, Job
Challenges in elementary education have been captured and Mishra, Naina
the analysed by various studies. (2020)
implementation Sankaranarayanan,
of the RTE Act The studies have captured the pandora box of
Aruna(2012)
problems that the RTE has opened in the
academic history of India.

1.4.3 INFERENCES DRAWN FROM THE REVIEW OF

LITERATURE

The literature reviewed highlighted that a comprehensive and detailed study of right to
education and The Right to Education Act, 2009 in Haryana has not been done. The
review of literature has thrown light on various dimensions of the provisions,
limitations, loopholes, criticisms and challenges in the successful implementation of
the Right to Education. Review of literature also brings forth the need for a national
movement encompassing all the sections of the society to give a real meaning to the
right to education and make it a success. The literature also threw light on the loopholes
in the legislation itself.

Keeping in view, the review of the existing literature and after having identified the
research gaps in the existing study, an attempt has been made to identify whether such
conditions are feasible in Haryana or not.
 61

SECTION V

1.5.1 PROFILE OF HARYANA

Haryana has a proud history going back to the Vedic age. The state was the home of
the legendary Bharata dynasty, which has given the name Bharat to India. Haryana
finds mention in the great epic of Mahabharata. With the reorganisation of Punjab on
1st November, 1966, Haryana was made into a full-fledged State. Haryana is a state
located in the northern part of the country.

The State is bound by Uttar Pradesh in the East, Punjab in the West, Himachal Pradesh
in the North and Rajasthan in the South. The National Capital Territory of Delhi juts
into Haryana. The State is spread over an area of about 44000sq. km. making it the 20th
largest state in the country in terms of area. The density of population per sq. Km. is
about 570 which is above the national average.

The state has a growth rate of about 19% which slightly exceeds the national growth
rate of about 17%. The literacy rate in the state is about 76% a Diagram that has
improved tremendously in the last few years due to the consistent efforts of the
government. The sex ratio in Haryana leaves a lot to be desired as it lags behind the
national average by 70 points. The languages spoken in the Haryana state includes
Hindi and Haryanvi.

Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 65 per cent population in Haryana with
contribution of 26.4 per cent in GDP of the State. Haryana has a large industrial base
having more than 1,347 large and medium and 80,000 small scale units in the State.
Haryana is the largest producer of passenger cars, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles,
refrigerators, scientific instruments, etc.

The population of Haryana, according to the 2011 Census, stands at about 25 million,
making it the 17th most populated state in India. The total population growth in this
decade was 19.90 percent while in the previous decade it was 28.06 percent. The
population of Haryana forms 2.09 percent of India in 2011.The state is well connected
to the capital of India. The data presented in Table 1.2 highlights the profile of Haryana
from a comparative perspective in a nutshell.
 62

Map 1.1: District Map of Haryana

Source: Census of India 2011

 63

Table 1.3: Profile of Haryana at a glance

Description 2011 2001

Approximate population 2.54 Crores 2.11 Crores
Actual population 25,351,462 21,144,564
Male 13,494,734 11,363,953
Female 11,856,728 9,780,611
Population growth 19.90% 28.06%
Percentage of total population 2.09% 2.06%
Sex ratio 879 861
Child sex ratio 834 819
Density/km2 573 478
Density/mi2 1,485 1,239
Area(km2) 44,212 44,212
Area mi2 17,070 17,070
Total child population (0-6 age) 3,380,721 3,335,537
Male population (0-6 age) 1,843,109 1,833,655
Female population (0-6 age) 1,537,612 1,501,882
Literacy 75.55 % 67.91 %
Male literacy 84.06 % 78.49 %
Female literacy 65.94 % 55.73 %
Total literate 16,598,988 12,093,677
Male literate 9,794,067 7,480,209
Female literate 6,804,921 4,613,468

Source: Census of India 2011

The literacy rate of Haryana as per Census 2011 is 76.64 percent. The corresponding
figures for males and females are 85.38 and 66.77 percent respectively. Thus, three-
fourth of the population is literate in Haryana. Haryana has continued its march in
improving literacy rate by recording a jump of 9 percentage points during 2001-2011;
although the gap between male and female literacy in Census 2001 and 2011 continues
to be almost the same, i.e. of 22 percent points approximately. Diagram 1.1 presents
 64

the literacy rate of Haryana according to 2001 and 2011 Census in a comparative
context.

Diagram 1.1: Literacy rate of Haryana in Census 2001 and Census 2011

90 85.4
78.5 76.64
80

70
67.9 66.8

60 55.7

50

40

30

20

10

0
2001 2011

Total Male Female

Source: Census of India 2011 and Census of India 2001

The data presented in Table 1.3 shows the total number of literate population, number
of literate males and literate females in Haryana according to 2001 and 2011 Census.

Table 1.4: Number of literate population in Haryana and their change: 2001 and
2011

Literates Total Males Females

2001 1,20,93,677 74,80,209 46,13,468
2011 1,69,04,324 99,91,838 69,12,486

Source: Census of India 2011and 2001

The data presented in Table 1.4 presents detailed information about the literacy rate
(total, male and female) for all the districts of Haryana.
 65

Table 1.5: District wise literacy rates of Haryana, Census 2001 and Census 2011

Literacy Rate Literacy Rate Literacy Rate

State/district (Persons) (Males) (Females)
2001 2011 2001 2011 2001 2011
Haryana 67.9 76.64 78.5 85.4 55.7 66.8
Panchkula 74.0 83.4 80.9 88.6 65.7 77.5
Ambala 75.3 82.9 82.3 88.5 67.4 76.6
Yamunanagar 71.6 78.9 78.8 85.1 63.4 72.0
Kurukshetra 69.9 76.7 78.1 83.5 60.6 69.2
Kaithal 59.0 70.6 69.2 79.3 47.3 60.7
Karnal 67.7 76.4 76.3 83.7 58.0 68.3
Panipat 69.2 77.5 78.5 85.4 58.0 68.2
Sonipat 72.8 80.8 83.1 89.4 60.7 70.9
Jind 62.1 72.7 73.8 82.5 48.5 61.6
Fatehabad 58.0 69.1 68.2 78.1 46.5 59.3
Sirsa 60.6 70.4 70.1 78.6 49.9 61.2
Hisar 64.8 73.2 76.6 82.8 51.1 62.3
Bhiwani 67.4 76.7 80.3 87.4 53.0 64.8
Rohtak 73.7 80.4 83.2 88.4 62.6 71.2
Jhajjar 72.4 80.8 83.3 89.4 59.6 71.0
Mahendragarh 69.9 78.9 84.7 91.3 54.1 65.3
Rewari 75.2 82.2 88.4 92.9 60.8 70.5
Gurgaon 78.5 84.4 88.0 90.3 67.5 77.6
Mewat 43.5 56.1 61.2 73.0 23.9 37.6
Faridabad 76.3 83.0 85.1 89.9 65.5 75.2
Palwal 59.2 70.3 75.1 82.6 40.8 56.4

Source: Census of India 2011 and Census of India 2001

1.5.1.1 PROFILE OF PANCHKULA DISTRICT

In 2011, the population of Panchkula was 561,293, of whom 299,679 and 261,614 were
men and women respectively. As of the 2001 census, Panchkula had a population of
468,411, of whom 256,939 were men and the rest 211,472 were women. The population
 66

of Panchkula district is 2.21% of the total population. According to the 2001 census,
Panchkula district constitutes 2.22% of the total population.

There is a 19.83 percent change in the population compared to 2001. According to the
2001 census of India, the Panchkula district has grown by 50.91 per cent compared to
1991.

In education section, total literates in Panchkula city are 162,031 of which 88,982 are
males while 73,049 are females. Average literacy rate of Panchkula city is 85.96 percent
of which male and female literacy was 89.49 and 82.02 percent.118

Table 1.6: Profile of Panchkula at a glance

Description 2011 2001

Actual population 561,293 468,411
Male 299,679 256,939
Female 261,614 211,472
Population growth 19.83% 50.91%
Area sq. Km 898 898
Density/km2 625 522
Proportion to haryana population 2.21% 2.22%
Sex ratio (per 1000) 873 823
Child sex ratio (0-6 age) 863 828
Average literacy 81.88 74.00
Male literacy 87.04 80.90
Female literacy 75.99 65.70
Total child population (0-6 age) 66,302 141,971
Male population (0-6 age) 35,583 77,678
Female population (0-6 age) 30,719 64,293
Literates 405,318 144,845
Male literates 229,862 96,571
Female literates 175,456 241,416
Child proportion (0-6 age) 11.81% 30.31%
Boys proportion (0-6 age) 11.87% 30.23%
Girls proportion (0-6 age) 11.74% 30.40%
Source: Census of India, 2011

118
www.census2011.co.in/census/district/208-panchkula.html, Accessed on 31st Jan, 2012
 67

1.5.1.2 PROFILE OF KURUKSHETRA DISTRICT

In 2011, Kurukshetra had population of 964,655 of which male and female were
510,976 and 453,679 respectively. In 2001 Census, Kurukshetra had a population of
825,454 of which males were 442,328 and remaining 383,126 were females.
Kurukshetra District population constituted 3.81 percent of total population. In 2001
Census, this Diagram for Kurukshetra District was at 3.90 percent of population.

There was change of 16.86 percent in the population compared to population as per
2001 Census. In the previous Census of India 2001, Kurukshetra District recorded an
increase of 23.32 percent in its population compared to 1991.119

Table 1.7: Profile of Kurukshetra at a glance

Description 2011 2001

Actual population 964,655 825,454
Male 510,976 442,328
Females 453,679 383,126
Population growth 16.86% 23.32%
Area sq. Km 1,530 1,530
Density/km 630 540
Proportion to Haryana population 3.81% 3.90%
Sex ratio (per 1000) 888 866
Child sex ratio (0-6 age) 818 770
Average literacy 76.31 69.90
Male literacy 83.02 78.10
Female literacy 68.84 60.60
Total child population (0-6 age) 116,957 113,628
Male population (0-6 age) 64,320 64,205
Female population (0-6 age) 52,637 49,423
Literates 646,893 294,953
Male literates 370,828 201,961
Female literates 276,065 496,914
Child proportion (0-6 age) 12.12% 13.77%
Boys proportion (0-6 age) 12.59% 14.52%
Girls proportion (0-6 age) 11.60% 12.90%
Source: Census of India 2011

119
www.census2011.co.in/census/district/211-kurukshetra.html, Accessed on 31st Jan, 2012
 68

SECTION VI

1.6.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act popularly called as the
Right to Education Act is an Indian law enacted by the Parliament of India on 4th
August, 2009. The Act came into force all over India with the exception of the state of
Jammu and Kashmir from 1st April, 2010 and outlines the practices of the importance
of free and compulsory education for children aged 6 and 14 years under Article 21A
of the Constitution of India.

Exercising the powers granted by section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as a first step towards implementing this Act, the
Government of Haryana formulated the “Haryana Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Rules, 2011”. The Rules came into force in Haryana on 3rd June
2011.

From the literary attempt made to review the existing literature related to the Right to
Education Act and machinery to implement it is evident that education is the most
powerful and empowering weapon worldwide. In order to go into the depth of
examining the implementation of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Rules in Haryana based on the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009, the research is designed to explain the need, scope, objectives,
research methods and schematic view of the study.

1.6.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The present study has made an attempt to critically examine the provisions of the Right
to Education Rules. The study made an attempt to study the implementation of the Right
of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules in Haryana based on the Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 in the districts of Panchkula and
Kurukshetra, the infrastructure of select government and private schools, the awareness
level of the target group about the right to education and the provisions of the Right to
Education Rules and the acceptability of parents and teachers regarding the mixing of
children from diversified backgrounds.
 69

1.6.3 NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The right to education is an enabling right. Education ‘creates the “voice” through
which rights can be claimed and protected’, and without education people lack the
capacity to ‘achieve valuable functioning as part of the living’. If people have access to
education they can develop the skills, capacity and confidence to secure other rights.

Education gives people the ability to access information detailing the range of rights
that they hold, and government’s obligations. The study comprehensively studied and
analysed the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Rules, 2011 in Haryana based on the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009 in the districts of Panchkula and Kurukshetra. It has
identified the major issues and problems hindering the effective implementation of the
Right to Education Rules. The study has made an attempt to identify the critical gaps
as well as review the implementation and working of the Right to Education Rules,
2011.

1.6.4 SCOPE

The present study was undertaken with the purpose of analyzing the implementation of
the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011 in Haryana based
on the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 in the districts
of Panchkula and Kurukshetra. Haryana is a young state of the Union of India divided
into 22 districts. All these vary from the point of view of literacy, climate, development
indicators etc.

The scope of the present study is limited to two important districts of Haryana namely
Panchkula and Kurukshetra. These two districts have been chosen as a sample on the
criteria of literacy rate in the state120, i.e. Panchkula being one of the most literate
districts and Kurukshetra being a moderately literate district of Haryana. The survey
period of the research and data collection was from Jan 2016 to July 2016 and the
period of study was from 1st January, 2012 to 31st December 2016.

120
www.censusindia.gov.in, Accessed on 31st Jan, 2012
 70

1.6.5 OBJECTIVES

The main thrust of the study was to analyse the implementation of The Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, implemented in the form of The Right
of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011 in Haryana121. The study
was undertaken with the following objectives:

1. To critically examine the provisions of the Right to Education Act.

2. To study the implementation of Right to Education in the districts of Panchkula
and Kurukshetra.
3. To study the organisational structure as well as the performance of the officials
involved in the implementation of the Right to Education Act.
4. To study the infrastructure of government and private schools selected for the
purpose of the study.
5. To study the awareness level of the target group about the right to education and
the provisions of the Right to Education Act.
6. To analyse the acceptability of parents regarding the mixing of children from
diversified backgrounds.

1.6.6 HYPOTHESES OF STUDY

In the light of the overall objectives of the study and after reviewing the existing
literature, the following hypotheses were developed for testing**:

1. Right to Education Act has been successfully implemented in the districts of

Panchkula and Kurukshetra.
2. The awareness level about the right to education amongst the target group
(parents and teachers) is not very high.
3. There is reluctance on the part of the target group to avail the benefits of The
Right to Education Act, 2009.

121
Exercising the powers granted by section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act, 2009, as a first step towards implementing this Act, the Government of Haryana
formulated the “Haryana Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011”. The Rules
came into force in Haryana on 3rd June 2011.
 71

4. Infrastructural facilities in government schools for implementation of right to

education are inadequate.
5. There is reluctance on the part of the affluent families towards the mixing of
their children with children belonging to the underprivileged sections of society.
6. The school authorities are not keen on implementing The Right to Education
Act, 2009:

a. Private schools are not keen to implement the provisions of Right to

Education Act.
b. Government schools are keen to implement the provisions of Right to
Education Act.

** Exercising the powers granted by section 38 of the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as a first step towards implementing this Act, the Government
of Haryana formulated the “Haryana Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
Rules, 2011”. The Rules came into force in Haryana on 3rd June, 2011. The study made an
attempt to study the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
Rules in Haryana based on the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
in the districts of Panchkula and Kurukshetra.

1.6.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The study analysed the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009122 in the districts of Panchkula and Kurukshetra,
Haryana. Exercising the powers granted by section 38 of the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, as a first step towards implementing this Act,
the Government of Haryana formulated the “Haryana Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Rules, 2011123”.

The methodology adopted for the current research was based on the triangulation
method (combination of qualitative and quantitative methods). It was thought that

122
Refer Annexure III for the detailed Act
123
Refer Annexure IV for the detailed Rules
 72

triangulation method would be more appropriate, because it helped to identify, explore,

and understand different dimensions of the issue.

Both primary as well as secondary sources of data have been used

1.6.7.1 PRIMARY DATA

With a view to make the study more realistic, comprehensive and valid, out of the four
schools selected from each district; one school each was chosen from the government
sector and the private sector respectively, and one school was chosen from the rural
area and one school was chosen from the urban area respectively in each district. A
sample was drawn on the basis of random sampling. Sample size for the purpose of
study was: 25 parents each of the children in the select schools, i.e. 25x8=200 and a
sample of total 100 teachers distributed across eight select schools.

The primary data is based on random sampling from parents and teachers who were
directly impacted by the Right to Education Rules. The information was collected with
the help of questionnaires124 and structured interviews conducted with the students.
Data has also been collected with the help of personal observations made during the
field visits to the schools selected for the purpose of the study and in order to understand
and evaluate the existing state of infrastructure.

Table 1.8: Details of the select schools125

District Area Type of school Block

Panchkula Urban Co-Education/ Government Pinjore
Co-Education/ Private Pinjore
Rural Co-Education/ Government Morni Hills
Co-Education/ Private Pinjore
Kurukshetra Rural Co-Education/ Government Thanesar
Co-Education/ Private Shahabad
Urban Co-Education/Government Shahabad
Co-Education/ Private Thanesar

124
Refer Annexure I and II for the questionnaire on parents and teachers respectively
125
Names of the schools selected for the purpose of study have not been disclosed anywhere in the
study because majority of the respondents (school teachers) agreed to respond to the questionnaire only
on the condition of not revealing the identity of their respective schools.
 73

The technique adopted for the primary data collection was based on structured
interviews and questionnaires. Questionnaires126 were administered to the target group
(parents and teachers) who were directly impacted by the Right to Education Rules.
Informal interviews were also conducted with various officials connected with the
implementation of the Right to Education Rules. Observation method, wherever
possible was also used for collecting data.

1.6.7.2 SECONDARY DATA

In order to study the implementation of the Right to Education Act, 2009 in Haryana,
secondary sources have been used. The secondary data has been collected from various
sources, namely office records, published and unpublished documents, various acts,
rules, published books, articles, government annual reports, magazines, brochures,
journals, websites and newspapers etc. This data has been mainly gathered from the
following:

a. The website/ annual reports of the Ministry of Human Resource

Development127, New Delhi.
b. Newspapers, magazines and other journals.
c. The website and publications of the Indian Institute of Public Administration,
New Delhi.
d. Existing literature and other scholarly work .
e. Various magazines, journals and books.
f. Website of United Nations and its various constituent bodies, World Bank,
OECD128 Countries, Government of India and Government of Haryana.

126
Refer Annexure I and II
127
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has been officially renamed as the Ministry of
Education in August 2020. Notably, the change in the name of the ministry was made as part of the
recommendations of the New Education Policy 2020.
128
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental economic
organisation with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy,
providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good
practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. Generally, OECD members
are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as
developed countries. The OECD is an official United Nations observer.
 74

g. Annual Reports of various ministries of the Government of India and Haryana

Government and international organisations like United Nations and other such
bodies.

1.6.8 SAMPLING PROCEDURE AND DESIGN

A simple random sampling procedure has been adopted for the selection of the parents
and teachers who were the direct beneficiaries/ participants or were impacted by the
implementation of the Right to Education Act. Keeping in view the statistics on literacy
as per the Census 2011, two districts namely Panchkula and Kurukshetra were chosen
as they were the most and a moderately literate districts in Haryana, respectively.

The procedure followed to choose a sample that was representative of the population
has been expressed as under:

With a view to study the objectives and test the hypothesis, a total number of 4 schools
from each district were chosen on the basis of random sampling method. A sample was
drawn on the basis of random sampling. Sample size for the purpose of study was: 25
parents of the children in select schools, i.e. 25x8=200 and a sample of total 100
teachers distributed across 8 select schools.

Table 1.9: Details of the sample respondents

S. No. Category of respondents No. of Respondents

1. Parents 200
2. Teachers 100
3. Students 200
Total 500

Additionally, in order to understand and evaluate the existing state of infrastructure, a

total of 200 student respondents were randomly chosen during the lunch break/ off time
from the selected schools for this study. Equal number of students (25 each) were
selected from rural and urban schools in each district respectively. Similarly, equal
number of students (25 each) were selected from government and private schools in
each district respectively. The break up of the sample for school children has been
captured in table 3.2 below:
 75

Table 1.10: Details of the students chosen for discussion

Number of
District Area Type of school
students
Co-Education/ Government 25
Urban
Co-Education/ Private 25
Panchkula
Co-Education/ Government 25
Rural
Co-Education/ Private 25
Co-Education/ Government 25
Rural
Co-Education/ Private 25
Kurukshetra
Co-Education/ Government 25
Urban
Co-Education/ Private 25

For the purpose of data collection from the students, a formal questionnaire was not
purposely administered as it was felt that the students in the age group of 6-14 would
not be in a position to fill and completely understand the questionnaire. Hence the
students were asked questions in the language they understood relating to the basic
infrastructural facilities in schools. The issues that were enquired were those which are
mentioned in Norms and Standards prescribed in the RTE Rules, Haryana. 129

1.6.9 TEST OF VALIDITY

In order to check the validity of the data collected through questionnaire, a pilot survey
was conducted. Further, personal observation, informal discussions and interview
remained instrumental for ensuring the validity of the responses.

1.6.9.1 PILOT SURVEY

Out of the two selected districts namely; Panchkula and Kurukshetra, in the present
study, district of Panchkula was selected for conducting the preliminary survey. The
pilot survey was undertaken to pre-test the questionnaire/schedule and to refine it before
use for final study by making certain changes in the questionnaire/schedule. Table 1.8
gives details of the units selected for the purpose of the pilot study.

129
Refer Annexure IV for the detailed Rules.
 76

Table 1.11: No. of units selected for pilot survey

S. No. Name of the Unit No. of Respondents

1. Parents 15
2. Teachers 15
Total 30

1.6.10 PERSONAL OBSERVATION

The information which could not be obtained through questionnaire/ schedule and
personal interviews was obtained by means of direct personal observation made during
the course of visits to the schools. Sometimes, respondents do not wish to disclose the
answers to questions. In such cases, observations from a close angle to the ground
realities help to gauge conclusions, if observed logically and scientifically. In the
present study, personal observation method has been used to obtain the actual feelings
of parents and teachers.

1.6.11 INFORMAL DISCUSSION AND INTERVIEW

With the intention to be acquainted with the ground reality in a better way, personal
visits to the different respondents were made. Further, interviews with the officials of
the select schools and parents were also carried out. To obtain firsthand information
and to comprehend closely the inner feeling and problems, informal discussion were
made with parents and teachers and also with the officials of the schools who were
involved with the implementation of the Rules in Haryana.

1.6.12 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The data collected from different sources have been tabulated on Microsoft excel and
analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version, 20 (IBM, 2011).
For the analysis of results, the following techniques have been applied:

1.6.12.1 NON-PARAMETRIC TEST

In a non-parametric test, no assumptions about the population from which the samples
are drawn are made. Originated in sociological and psychological research, non-
 77

parametric tests today are very popular in all behavioral sciences. The test used in the
present research was Chi-square Test.

Chi-square Test

The Chi-square test of independence has been used in this study (as per the need of the
research) to analyse the levels of awareness, perceptions etc. among parents and
teachers with regard to the Right to Education Rules, 2011 in Haryana. Moreover, it
was also used to study the receptibility levels of the respondents.

The Chi-square test is one of simplest and most widely used non-parametric test in the
statistical work. It describes the magnitude of the difference between the observed
frequencies and the expected frequencies under certain assumptions. It is used to
estimate the likelihood that some factors other than chance, account for the observed
relationship. Since null hypothesis states that there is no relationship between the
variables under study, the Chi-square test merely evaluates the probability test that the
observed relationship resulted from chance factor. The equation for Chi-square is as
follows:

χ 2 = ∑ (0 − 𝐸)2 /E

χ 2 = Chi-square

O= Observed frequencies

E = Expected frequencies

a. Calculate the expected frequencies (denoted as E)

b. Find out the differences between observed frequencies (denotes as O) and
expected frequencies. In other words find (O — E)
c. Square up the various values of (O — E) or find out (O — E)2 and divide
each value of (O— E)2 by the respective value of E or the expected
frequency. In other words find all values (O— E)2/E
d. The total of all the values of (O — E)2/E i.e. ∑ [(O — E)2/E] will be the
value of χ 2.
 78

e. Compare the calculated value of χ 2

with the independent value of Chi-
square (available in Tables) for the desired level of significance.
f. If the calculated value of χ 2
is more than the relevant Table values, the
difference between observed and expected frequencies is significant. If the
calculated value of χ 2 is less than the Table value the difference between
observed and expected frequencies is not significant and could have arisen
due fluctuation of in sampling.

1.6.13 DIAGRAMMATIC AND GRAPHIC METHODS

The data collected has been analysed as per the requirements of the study with the help
of Diagrams/graphs in the following ways:

a. Bar Diagrams
b. Tables

1.6.14 CHAPTER SCHEME

CHAPTER I: Introduction, Scope and Methodology

CHAPTER II: Right to Education: Development of the concept at International and

National levels.

CHAPTER III: Primary education in Haryana: An overview of administrative

structure and infrastructure

CHAPTER IV: Implementation of Right to Education: Perception of Parents

CHAPTER V: Implementation of Right to Education: Perception of Teachers

CHAPTER VI: Conclusions and Policy Prescriptions

1.6.15 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

To know the extent of the reliability of the study, it is important to state the limitations
under which it has been carried out. The main limitations of the present study have been
as follows:
 79

a. Collecting primary data from the teachers in the select schools was a very
difficult and time consuming activity, mainly because teachers did not wanted
to disclose their identity and did not wanted the name of their respective schools
to be captured/ highlighted anywhere in the study and were quite reluctant to
disclose the loopholes/gaps in the internal functioning of the schools in which
they were working.
b. Parents too, majority of them, were initially hesitant and unwilling to disclose
the information regarding performance and weak points of the schools of their
wards during the course of opinion survey carried out by means of questionnaire
and informal discussion.
c. The study is limited to only two districts of Haryana.
d. As no study had been undertaken on measuring the levels of awareness among
parents and teachers about either the Right to Education Act or any such Rules
specific to Haryana prior to this one, the study could not compare the findings
with any previous researches.
e. The study was limited to only major stakeholders of selected districts due to
paucity of time.
f. The most difficult exercise during the course of the study was the collection of
secondary data. The officials and other administrative authorities were
unforthcoming regarding official records and other information. Thus, there
were many weak linkages and the data presented at many places in the course
of the present study was discrete.
g. Due to the non availability and untimely availability of data, a perfectly random
sample of respondents was not possible.
h. Incomplete and wrong information and non-responses to some questions could
not be avoided. This involved extra effort to sort out the relevant respondent
and receiving the incomplete and/ or wrongly filled questionnaire to be filled
again.
i. For the less literate parents in the rural areas, the questionnaire had to be
translated in the vernacular language to get the responses.

The present research work is a modest attempt to study the implementation of the
Right to Education Act, 2009 implemented as the Right to Education Rules, 2011
 80

in Haryana which the Government of India had launched with much fanfare. The
researcher has contributed a drop in the vast ocean of knowledge in attempting to
study some selected aspects of the Act and the Rules. Keeping in view the scope of
the study and the limitations, it throws open many more avenues for other
researchers.