We celebrate the surpassing of the record of #PanditNehru by #Modiji in terms of the number of days of remaining Elected Prime Minister for the longest unbroken stint.
Whether then or now, we are still grappling with the basic needs of a decent democracy. Then we had an excuse of having been just released from the clutches of a blood sucking foreign regime. The present rulers are in place for the past 12 years. Even if the excuse is that the previous regimes were blood sucking in respect of corruption, a decade and more should have sufficed to concentrate on the basic needs.
In this regard, it is to be seen that the Kerala Law Reforms Commission, 2008 prescribed a Bill for implementation of 'Free and Compulsory Education in Kerala'. None other than Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer was the Chairman of the Commission. The Commission had made various recommendations on a myriad subjects.
The first one is pertaining to the above issue. For ease of reference, some of the vital provisions of the proposed bill are extracted below:
2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Child” means a Child who attained the age of six years at the beginning of an academic year.
(b) “Government School” means School run by Government.
(c) “Aided School” means a Private School that is recognized and is receiving aid from the Government.
(d) “Recognized School” means a Private School recognized by the Government.
(e) “Free Education” means freedom for the child and his parent or guardian from liability to,—
(i) Pay any fee or charges to the School where the child or ward is studying or to an examining body or any external body providing any service through the School.
(ii) Incur expenditure for textbooks, notes books, and other study materials and for uniforms.
(iii) Incur expenditure towards bus fare, but limited to BPL families alone.
(f) “Local authority” means a Panchayat at any level constituted under Section 4 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994) or a Municipality constituted under Section 4 of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (20 of 1994).
(g) “Free Education Fund” means the Fund constituted under Section 7.
(h) “Education Committee” means the Committee constituted under subsection (2) of Section 8.
(i) “Below Poverty Line Family” means the families so published by the Local Authority as per the provisions of the Act, ——
(j) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules.
3. Right to Education.— The Government shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six and fourteen years.
4. Responsibility of the parent or guardian.— It shall be the duty of every parent or guardian of a child to enroll his child or ward in a school and facilitate his completion of education.
5. Category of Schools.— For the purposes of this Act, schools in the State are classified as category 1, 2 and 3 as follows, namely:—
Category 1. Government School Category
2. Aided School Category
3. Recognised School.
6. Responsibility of Schools to provide free and compulsory education.— (1) In Category 1 Schools, all the expenses for free education shall be met directly by the Government.
(2) In category 2 and 3 Schools, all the expenses for free education shall be met by school management in the first instance and reimbursed by the local authority of the area where the school is situated, in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the local authority may make available sufficient funds in advance to the school management to meet the expenses for providing free education to the students subject to settlement of the final accounts annually.
(3) No child shall be denied admission to any educational institution within the State for any course or class including plus 1 and plus 2 and no fee shall be levied for admission or tuition. Any violation of the provision shall be liable to fine for the first fault and if repeated for the second time the recognition of the institution shall be liable to be cancelled. The Director of Public Instruction may issue any direction to the head of any education institution under public or private management if otherwise the applicant for admission is duly qualified without reference to any communal reservation or religious consideration.
(4) Any applicant if refused admission or the ground of non-availability of seats or non-payment of admission or capitation fee or communal minority consideration may move the District having jurisdiction over the School for an order directing admission if otherwise qualified.
7. Constitution of Free Education Fund.— (1) Government shall constitute a fund by name “Free Education Fund” to meet the expenditure of the free education of the children.
(2) The following amount shall be credited to the Free Education Fund constituted under Sub-section (1), namely:—
(a) Grant from Government.
(b) Two per cent additional building tax collected by the local authority under Section 8 of this Act.
(c) Any donations to the fund made by any voluntary organizations, charitable societies, companies or other public sector undertakings.
(d) Donation from any individual.
(3) Government while preparing the annual demand for grants, due consideration shall be given for providing sufficient fund to the Free Education Fund.
8. Additional Building Tax.—(1) Local Authority shall collect two percent additional building tax from the owner whose annual building tax exceeds Five hundred rupees.
(2) The amount collected by the local authority shall be credited to the Free Education Fund.
9. Responsibility of the Local Authority.— (1) Subject to the responsibility of the Government; Local Authority shall be primarily responsible for the imparting of free and compulsory education to all the children within the local area.
(2) For imparting free and compulsory education, the local authority may constitute a committee by name ‘Educational Committee’ with the following members, namely:—
(a) Chairman/ President of the Local Authority.
(b) Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Local Authority.
(c) Headmaster of two Schools within the Local Authority.
(d) PTA President of two Schools in the Local Authority.
(3) One of the Commissioner / Secretary of the Local Authority shall be designated as the convener of the Committee.
(4) The Committee shall have a record of all children in its area who are in the age group of 1-14.
(5) The Committee shall ensure that every child in the age group of 6-14 years residing within its jurisdiction is enrolled in the School and is enabled to complete the education upto the 10th standard.
(6) The Committee shall prepare an estimate for free education of all the children in its area in September for the next academic year.
(7) The estimate prepared by the Committee shall be sent to Government before 30th November.
10. Admission of students below poverty line.— (1) Every category of schools shall admit in all classes twenty five percent of its total strength, students belonging to families Below Poverty Line.
(2) In the academic year after the commencement of this Act, twenty five percent of the admission to the lowest classes in a school shall be from the families Below Poverty Line. This shall be extended to the higher classes in the subsequent years.
(3) If sufficient number of student are not available from the Below Poverty Line families, those seats may be filled up by other students.
11. Payment of due salary and prohibition of donation. — (1) No manager or other authority in management of any school whether aided or unaided shall receive or cause to be received any amount from any student at the time of admission or at any time either as donation or in any other manner.
(2) No manager or any other authority in management of any school whether aided or unaided shall receive or cause to be received any amount from any teachers and other staff appointed in the school at the time of appointment or at any time while in service either as donation or in any other manner.
(3) Manager or any other authority in management of the school aided or unaided shall pay monthly salary to the teachers and other staff appointed in the school in accordance with the scale of pay fixed by the Government for such teachers and staff working in Government school without making any deduction or diminution on any account whatsoever. A mere consent of the teacher or other staff for deduction of amounts from the salary may not be a legal justification for paying any lesser amount as salary if a dispute arises as to whether full salary as prescribed by the Government was paid to the teacher or not.
(4) Violation of any of the provisions in sub-sections 1 to 3 above shall be an offence punishable, with imprisonment for a term of 6 months and a fine of fifty thousand rupees or with both.
6. Responsibility of Schools to provide free and compulsory education.— (1) In Category 1 Schools, all the expenses for free education shall be met directly by the Government.
(2) In category 2 and 3 Schools, all the expenses for free education shall be met by school management in the first instance and reimbursed by the local authority of the area where the school is situated, in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the local authority may make available sufficient funds in advance to the school management to meet the expenses for providing free education to the students subject to settlement of the final accounts annually.
(3) No child shall be denied admission to any educational institution within the State for any course or class including plus 1 and plus 2 and no fee shall be levied for admission or tuition. Any violation of the provision shall be liable to fine for the first fault and if repeated for the second time the recognition of the institution shall be liable to be cancelled. The Director of Public Instruction may issue any direction to the head of any education institution under public or private management if otherwise the applicant for admission is duly qualified without reference to any communal reservation or religious consideration.
(4) Any applicant if refused admission or the ground of non-availability of seats or non-payment of admission or capitation fee or communal minority consideration may move the District having jurisdiction over the School for an order directing admission if otherwise qualified.
7. Constitution of Free Education Fund.— (1) Government shall constitute a fund by name “Free Education Fund” to meet the expenditure of the free education of the children.
(2) The following amount shall be credited to the Free Education Fund constituted under Sub-section (1), namely:—
(a) Grant from Government.
(b) Two per cent additional building tax collected by the local authority under Section 8 of this Act.
(c) Any donations to the fund made by any voluntary organizations, charitable societies, companies or other public sector undertakings.
(d) Donation from any individual.
(3) Government while preparing the annual demand for grants, due consideration shall be given for providing sufficient fund to the Free Education Fund.
8. Additional Building Tax.—(1) Local Authority shall collect two percent additional building tax from the owner whose annual building tax exceeds Five hundred rupees.
(2) The amount collected by the local authority shall be credited to the Free Education Fund.
9. Responsibility of the Local Authority.— (1) Subject to the responsibility of the Government; Local Authority shall be primarily responsible for the imparting of free and compulsory education to all the children within the local area.
(2) For imparting free and compulsory education, the local authority may constitute a committee by name ‘Educational Committee’ with the following members, namely:—
(a) Chairman/ President of the Local Authority.
(b) Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Local Authority.
(c) Headmaster of two Schools within the Local Authority.
(d) PTA President of two Schools in the Local Authority.
(3) One of the Commissioner / Secretary of the Local Authority shall be designated as the convener of the Committee.
(4) The Committee shall have a record of all children in its area who are in the age group of 1-14.
(5) The Committee shall ensure that every child in the age group of 6-14 years residing within its jurisdiction is enrolled in the School and is enabled to complete the education upto the 10th standard.
(6) The Committee shall prepare an estimate for free education of all the children in its area in September for the next academic year.
(7) The estimate prepared by the Committee shall be sent to Government before 30th November.
10. Admission of students below poverty line.— (1) Every category of schools shall admit in all classes twenty five percent of its total strength, students belonging to families Below Poverty Line.
(2) In the academic year after the commencement of this Act, twenty five percent of the admission to the lowest classes in a school shall be from the families Below Poverty Line. This shall be extended to the higher classes in the subsequent years.
(3) If sufficient number of student are not available from the Below Poverty Line families, those seats may be filled up by other students.
11. Payment of due salary and prohibition of donation. — (1) No manager or other authority in management of any school whether aided or unaided shall receive or cause to be received any amount from any student at the time of admission or at any time either as donation or in any other manner.
(2) No manager or any other authority in management of any school whether aided or unaided shall receive or cause to be received any amount from any teachers and other staff appointed in the school at the time of appointment or at any time while in service either as donation or in any other manner.
(3) Manager or any other authority in management of the school aided or unaided shall pay monthly salary to the teachers and other staff appointed in the school in accordance with the scale of pay fixed by the Government for such teachers and staff working in Government school without making any deduction or diminution on any account whatsoever. A mere consent of the teacher or other staff for deduction of amounts from the salary may not be a legal justification for paying any lesser amount as salary if a dispute arises as to whether full salary as prescribed by the Government was paid to the teacher or not.
(4) Violation of any of the provisions in sub-sections 1 to 3 above shall be an offence punishable, with imprisonment for a term of 6 months and a fine of fifty thousand rupees or with both.
But what the Kerala Government enacted as an Act did not really follow the above prescription.
What was however proposed in the above bill was similar to what was written in the earlier blog - i.e., the State should sponsor the entire burden of the free education.
Once the State comes to understand the real burden of the said education, then alone can fleecing at the level of schools be stopped.
Once the real cost of bringing up children is understood, then persons will not mindlessly ask people to produce more children for a mere trifling of ₹ 30,000/- or ₹ 40,000/-
In any democracy, right to life is to be protected. Education to the level of survival and medical facilities to protect one's life are parts of this fundamental right.
Unless these are achieved, we cannot really be proud of ourselves, as a democracy.
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