Unit 5: Social Welfare

Policies
a. Education: Right to Education
b. Health: National Health Mission
c. Food: Right to Food Security
d. Employment: MGNREGA
 Right to Education: The Genesis
• In the 1993 case of Unnikrishnan vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court ruled that the citizens of
this country have a fundamental right to education. The said right flows from Article 21. The Supreme Court
also noted that the right to education was not an absolute right and ruled that every citizen of India should
have the right to free education until 14 years of age. Subsequently, The Constitution (Eighty-sixth
Amendment) Act, 2002 was enacted, which made the following changes:
Fundamental Rights :
• Amendment led to: Insertion of new article 21A
• Provision Made: Right to education: The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of
the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may by law determine.
Directive Principles of State Policy
• Amendment Led To: Substitution of new article for article 45
• Provision Made: The State shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until
they complete the age of six years.
Fundamental Duties:
• Amendment made: Addition to article 51A
• Provision Made: ‘who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward
between the age of six and fourteen years.’
To enforce Article 21A, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education
Act (RTE) was enacted in 2009.
Right to Education Act
• The Act is completely titled “the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act”. It
was passed by the Parliament in August 2009. When the Act came into force in 2010, India became
one among 135 countries where education is a fundamental right of every child.
• The 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) inserted Article 21A in the Indian Constitution which
states: “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of 6 to 14 years in
such manner as the State, may by law determine.”
• As per this, the right to education was made a Fundamental Right and removed from the list of
Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The RTE is the consequential legislation envisaged under the 86th Amendment.
• The article incorporates the word “free” in its title. What it means is that no child (other than those
admitted by his/her parents in a school not supported by the government) is liable to pay any kind
of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing
elementary education.
• This Act makes it obligatory on the part of the government to ensure admission, attendance and
completion of elementary education by all children falling in the age bracket six to fourteen years.
• Essentially, this Act ensures free elementary education to all children in the economically weaker
sections of society.
 RTE Provisions
• The right of free and compulsory education to children until they complete their elementary
education in a school in the neighbourhood.
• The Act makes it clear that ‘compulsory education’ implies that it is an obligation on the part of
the government to ensure the admission, attendance and completion of elementary education of
children between the ages of six and fourteen. The word ‘free’ indicates that no charge is payable
by the child which may prevent him/her from completing such education.
• The Act provides for the admission of a non-admitted child to a class of his/her appropriate age.
• It mentions the duties of the respective governments, the local authorities and parents in ensuring
the education of a child. It also specifies the sharing of the financial burden between the central
and the state governments.
• It specifies standards and norms for Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTR), infrastructure and buildings,
working days of the school and for the teachers.
• It also says there should be no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. The Act also provides
for the prohibition of the employment of teachers for non-educational work, other than census,
elections and disaster relief work.
• The Act provides that the teachers appointed should be appropriately trained and qualified.
• The Act prohibits:
• Mental harassment and physical punishment.
• Screening procedures for the admission of children.
• Capitation fees.
• Private tuition by the teachers.
• Running schools with no recognition.
• The Act envisages that the curriculum should be developed in coherence with
the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and that which would take care
of the all-round development of the child. The curriculum should build on the
knowledge of the child, on his/her potentiality and talents, help make the child
free of trauma, fear and anxiety via a system that is both child-centric and child-
friendly.
Significance of RTE
With the passing of the Right to Education Act, India has moved to a rights-based approach towards
implementing education for all. This Act casts a legal obligation on the state and central governments to execute
the fundamental rights of a child (as per Article 21 A of the Constitution). Its significance are:

• The Act lays down specific standards for the student-teacher ratio, which is a very important concept in
providing quality education.
• It also talks about providing separate toilet facilities for girls and boys, having adequate standards for
classroom conditions, drinking water facilities, etc.
• The stress on avoiding the urban-rural imbalance in teachers’ posting is important as there is a big gap in the
quality and numbers regarding education in the villages compared to the urban areas in the country.
• The Act provides for zero tolerance against the harassment and discrimination of children. The prohibition of
screening procedures for admission ensures that there would be no discrimination of children on the basis of
caste, religion, gender, etc.
• The Act also mandates that no kid is detained until class 8. It introduced the Continuous Comprehensive
Evaluation (CCE) system in 2009 to have grade-appropriate learning outcomes in schools.
• The Act also provides for the formation of a School Management Committee (SMC) in every school in order to
promote participatory democracy and governance in all elementary schools. These committees have the authority to
monitor the school’s functioning and prepare developmental plans for it.
• The Act is justiciable and has a Grievance Redressal mechanism that permits people to take action when the
provisions of the Act are not complied with.
• The RTE Act mandates for all private schools to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children from socially
disadvantaged and economically backward sections. This move is intended to boost social inclusion and pave the
way for a more just and equal country.
• This provision is included in Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act. All schools (private, unaided, aided or special
category) must reserve 25% of their seats at the entry level for students from the Economically Weaker Sections
(EWS) and disadvantaged groups.
• When the rough version of the Act was drafted in 2005, there was a lot of outcry in the country against this
large percentage of seats being reserved for the underprivileged. However, the framers of the draft stood their
ground and were able to justify the 25% reservation in private schools.
• This provision is a far-reaching move and perhaps the most important step in so far as inclusive education is
concerned.
• This provision seeks to achieve social integration.
• The loss incurred by the schools as a result of this would be reimbursed by the central government.
• The Act has increased enrolment in the upper primary level (Class 6-8) between 2009 and 2016 by 19.4%.
• In rural areas, in 2016, only 3.3% of children in the 6 – 14 years bracket were out of school.
Criticism of RTE Act
• Even though the RTE Act is a step in the right direction towards the achievement of
making education truly free and compulsory in India, it has met with several criticisms.
Some of the criticisms are given below:
• The Act was drafted hastily without much thought or consultation being given to the
quality of education imparted.
• Children below 6 years are not covered under the Act.
• Many of the schemes under the Act have been compared to the previous schemes on
education such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and have been plagued with corruption
charges and inefficiency.
• At the time of admissions, many documents such as birth certificate, BPL certificate, etc.
are required. This move seems to have left out orphans from being beneficiaries of the
Act.
• There have been implementational hurdles in the 25% reservation of seats for EWS and
others in private schools. Some of the challenges in this regard are discriminatory
behaviour towards parents and difficulties experienced by students to fit in with a
different socio-cultural milieu.
• Regarding the ‘no detention’ policy till class 8, an amendment to the Act in 2019, introduced
regular annual exams in classes 5 and 8.
• In case a student fails in the annual exam, he/she is given extra training and made to appear for a re-
exam. If this re-exam is not passed, the student can be detained in the class.
• This amendment was made after many states complained that without regular exams, the learning levels
of children could not be evaluated effectively.
• The states which were against this amendment were six states with higher learning outcomes due to their
effective implementation of the CCE system as mandated in the Act. (The six states were Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Telangana and Maharashtra.)
• It has been found that many states find it difficult to move to the CCE system of assessment.
This is chiefly due to a lack of teachers’ training and orientation.
• Another criticism levelled against the Act is that instead of increasing the standards and
outcomes of the public education system in India, it passes the buck to private schools with
some respect.
• Making the right to education a fundamental right took more than 6 decades after
independence. Now, the government and all stakeholders should focus on the quality of
education, and gradually move towards having a single educational system and platform
across the country for all sections of society to foster equality, inclusion, and unit.
Health: National Health Mission
About NHM
• NHM was launched by the government of India in 2013 subsuming the National
Rural Health Mission (Launched in 2005) and the National Urban Health
Mission (Launched in 2013).
• The main programmatic components include Health System Strengthening in
rural and urban areas for - Reproductive-Maternal- Neonatal-Child and
Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Npn-Communicable
Diseases.
• The NHM envisages achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable &
quality health care services that are accountable and responsive to people's needs.
Support to States & Union Territories (UT):
Health Facilities: NHM support is provided to States/UTs for setting up of new facilities as per norms
and upgradation of existing facilities for bridging the infrastructure gaps based on the requirement posed by
them.
Health Services: NHM support is also provided for provision of a range of free services related to maternal health,
child health, adolescent health, family planning, universal immunization programme, and for major diseases such
as Tuberculosis, vector borne diseases like Malaria. Dengue and Kala Azar, Leprosy, etc.

Major Initiatives Supported Under NHM:

• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK),
• Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK),
• Implementation of Free Drugs and Free Diagnostics Service Initiatives.
• PM National Dialysis Programme,
• Implementation of National Quality Assurance Framework in all public health facilities.
• Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) & Tele-consultation services are also being implemented to improve access
to healthcare particularly in rural areas.
• Ayushman Bharat
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
Achievements of NHM
Improvement in Health Indicators:
• In the 15 years of implementation, the NHM has enabled achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) for health. The MDGs have been superseded by the Sustainable
Development Goals.
• It has also led to significant improvements in maternal, new-born, and child health
indicators, particularly for maternal mortality ratio, infant and under five mortality
rates, wherein the rates of decline in India are much higher than the global averages and
these declines have accelerated during the period of implementation of NHM.
Growth in Public Health Facilities:
• NHM adopts a health system approach and targets to build a network for public health
facilities with Health & Wellness Centres at the grassroot level and District Hospitals, with
robust referral linkage, to offer Comprehensive primary and secondary care services to citizens.
• NHM has not only contributed to increase in the institutional capacities for service delivery
but also has led to development of capacities for targeted interventions of the various
National Programmes under the NHM.
Equitable Development:
• There was also a sustained focus on the health of tribal populations, those in Left Wing
Extremism areas, and the urban poor.
• A more recent effort at ensuring equity in access and use, is the Aspirational district
initiative, in which 115 districts across 28 states, with weak social and human
development indicators have been identified for allocation of additional resources and
capacity enhancement to catch up with more progressive districts.
National Ambulance Services:
• At the time of launch of NRHM (2005), ambulance networks were non-existent. So
far, 20,990 Emergency Response Service Vehicles are operational under NRHM.
Besides 5,499 patient transport vehicles are also deployed, particularly for providing
“free pickup and drop back” facilities to pregnant women and sick infants.
Human Resource Augmentation:
• NHM supports states for engaging service delivery HR such as doctors,
nurses and health workers and also implements the world’s largest
community health volunteer programme through the Accredited
Social Health Activists (ASHAs). More than 10 lakhs ASHAs and
ASHA facilitators are engaged under NHM.
• NHM has also supported states to acquire staff with skills in public
health, finance, planning and management to plan and implement
interventions, freeing up clinical staff to deliver health services.
Health Sector Reforms:
• NHM enabled the design and implementation of reforms specifically
related to Governance, Procurement and Technology.
Food: Right to Food Security
Food Security in India