Activists bat for free education for all children till 18 years

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 17

Demanding free and compulsory education for all children till 18 years, a nationwide campaign on making Right to Education (from Pre-Primary to Higher Secondary) universal and abolition of child labour was launched on Monday by activists who also pressed for pushing the twin issues pertaining to basic rights of people an agenda ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Realising well how gains of the RTE Act, 2009 have been far than satisfactory, three child rights networks - Right to Education Forum (RTE Forum), Campaign against Child Labour (CACL) and Alliance for Right to Early Childhood Development-led by Devika Singh came together and released a charter of demands ensuring effective implementation of the RTE Act, 2009 and extending its purview making it from birth to 18 years instead of six-14 years.

"This is very tragic to see that our priorities have changed. Now education is not figured in the priority list of the governments. Focus has been shifted to trivial controversies. Now the governments want to shun the responsibility of education to private sector," former member of Planning Commission of India Sayeeda Hamid said.

Ambarish Rai, national convener of the Right to Education Forum, said, "In the recent years, we have seen how things have gone from bad to worst in terms of education. If we don't assert this time and lose this opportunity, the future generation will not forgive us. So, we are morally bound to raise this important issue with full force. It's shameful that still more than 90 per cent schools are not compliant with RTE norms even after 8 years of the enactment of the RTE Act, 2009."

Ashok Kumar, national advocacy convener, Campaign Against Child Labour, said, "Child labour is a big blot on this country. Without eradicating this menace our country can't progress further. It is imperative to ban it completely and substantially."

The three networks in their charter also asked the government to ensure at least 6 percent budget of GDP for Education and remove inequity in education through a "common school system".

They also asked the government to ensure the total eradication of child labour up to the age of 18 years besides asking the government not to amend "No Detention Policy" provisioned in section 16 of the RTE law and stop "mass scale closure" of government schools in the name of merger and re-open those that have been closed.