Presentation CABE (1)

8/16/2019 Presentation CABE (1)

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The 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India inserted a Fundamental

Right to Education of every child of the age of six to fourteen years.

It also substituted the irective !rinci"le outlined in Article #$ by an

obligation of the %tate to &!rovision for early childhood care and education tochildren belo' the age of six years(.

The conse)uential legislation of the above amendment is the Right of

Children to Free and Com"ulsory Education Act *++, 'hich entitles every

child of the age of six to fourteen years to free and com"ulsory education till

com"letion of elementary education in a neighborhood school. This mar-s a "aradigm shift to a rightbased "rovision of free and com"ulsory

education in India. %ection // of the RTE Act0 *++, states that “with a view

to prepare children above the age of three years for elementary education

and to provide early childhood care and education for all children until

they complete the age of six years, the appropriate government may make

necessary arrangements for preschool education for such children.”

CABE

THE CONTEXT


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The constitutional Amendment and the conse)uent RTE Act0 *++, delimited

the right of children to free and com"ulsory education to the age grou" of 6/#years only0 leaving out the children in the age grou" of +6 years.

1y im"lication0 the RTE Act0 *++, does not ta-e into consideration !re %chool

Education and %econdary 2evel of education in the ambit of rightsbased

education. The educational0 emotional and develo"mental needs of children of

age grou" of +6 continue to be governed by "rovisions under directive "rinci"les. Further0 the Act has not included children beyond /# years of age

i.e. the secondary education stage.

Conse)uently the vital years of secondary education re)uiring focus on

adolescent develo"ment0 building u"on the com"etencies gained at elementary

level as 'ell as s-ill develo"ment remain outside the "urvie' of rightsbasededucation.

Ever since the Act came into force0 it 'as felt that these t'o levels of education

i.e. "reschool education and secondary education ought to have been included

under the RTE for it to cover the entire s"an of child(s develo"ment through the

ex"erience of "reschool education0 elementary and secondary education.

CABE


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The $8th 3eeting of the CA1E 'as held on 4th 5une0 *+// 'herein it 'as it 'as felt

that every child in the country irres"ective of gender0 caste0 class or community to

'hich he or she belongs must have the right to at least /+ years of formal schooling.

Accordingly0 a 7Committee of CA1E on the subect of the Extension of the Right of

Children to Free and Com"ulsory Education Act 9RTE:0 *++, to !reschooleducation and secondary education; under the Chairmanshi" of Dr. D.

Purandeshwari0 3inister of %tate0 3


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The first meeting of the committee on the extension of the RTE Act0 *++, to

"reschool education and secondary education 'as held on %e"tember /,0 *+//. Conse)uent to the meeting0 t'o drafting committees one on Extension of RTE

to "reschool and the other on Extension of RTE to secondary level of education

'ere constituted to discuss in detail the feasibility of Extension of RTE Act0

*++,. @arious discussion meets 'ere organied but no final decision 'as ta-en as it

'as felt that the issue needed 'ider deliberation 'ith different sta-eholders. This Committee has been reconstituted vide order dated # th A"ril0 *+/6. The

terms of Reference of the Reconstituted CA1E %ubcommittee are> To examine the feasibility of bringing "reschool education under the Right of Children to Free

and Com"ulsory Education Act0 *++, to ensure continuity on the child(s educational

develo"ment. To examine the feasibility of bringing secondary education under the Right of Children to Free

and Com"ulsory Education Act0 *++, so that every child has a right to ten years of formal

schooling.

To "ro"ose a draft legislation incor"orating the "reschool and secondary education com"onent in

the Right of Children to Free and Com"ulsory Education Act0 *++,.

To "re"are detailed financial estimates for im"lementing children(s right to "reschool and

secondary education.

CABE


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India is a signatory to both the Convention on the Rights of the Child

9CRC: /,8, and Education for All 9EFA: /,,+. The latter has "ostulated

ECCE as the very first goal to be achieved for &Education for All(0 since

&learning begins at birth(.

The a-ar Frame'or- for Action 9*+++: and 3osco' Frame'or- for

Action 9*+/+: have reaffirmed the commitment to ECCE. Bnder the

recently ado"ted %ustainable evelo"ment oals *+=+0 oal #.* re)uires

ensuring that all girls and boys have access to )uality early childhood

develo"ment0 care and "re"rimary education so that they are ready for

"rimary education.

CABE

Rationale for Extension ofRTE, 2009 to Preschool

Education


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!reschool education "rovides a sound basis for learning and hel"s to

develo" s-ills0 -no'ledge and creativity in the formative years of child. It'as long felt that the children in the age grou" of #$ years ought to be

"rovided 'ith o""ortunities for school readiness and this be a "art of Right

of Children to Free and Com"ulsory Education Act.

It is an established fact that school readiness "rogrammes i.e. "reschool

education for children in the age grou" of #$ years0 better "re"ares thechildren for "rimary education. Research evidence indicates that children

bet'een the ages of four to six becomes mentally ready for more

structured0 but "lay based0 learning environment.

Children from disadvantaged communities in "articular re)uire at this

stage a school readiness curriculum 'hich should have continuity 'ith theearly curriculum in a bottom u" mode and not as a do'n'ard extension.


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A recent longitudinal research from three states in India0 on a""roximately

/*0+++ children revealed that a significant factor for lo' learning levels in earlygrades is inade)uate school readiness 9A%ER0 *+/=:.

Another study 9Indian Early Childhood Education Im"act0 *+/$: also observed

that children are entering rade I 'ithout "ossessing ade)uate cognitive and

language com"etencies0 'hich are basic "rere)uisites for com"rehending the

"rimary school curriculum. Daul et. al. 9/,,#: in their study of a""roximately =80+++ children in eight states

"rovided robust em"irical evidence on the im"act of "reschool "artici"ation on

retention rates in "rimary schools0 'hich im"roved by *+.$ for those 'ho

attended "reschool in com"arison to children 'ho did not receive "reschool

education.

EFA 3onitoring re"ort *++8 observed that the ECE "rogrammes for young

children under the age of = remain largely neglected. The Re"ort revealed that

these "rogrammes 'ere found in only $= of the 'orlds( countries0 mostly in

orth America0 Gestern Euro"e0 Central Asia0 2atin America and the Caribbean.

Even in some of these countries0 the "rovision of ECE activities is considered

the sole res"onsibility of families andHor "rivate "roviders.

CABE


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Considering the significance of early childhood education0 the Eleventh Five

ear !lan had em"hasied that young children be "rovided o""ortunities andex"eriences through ECCE that lead to their allround develo"ment

"hysical0 social0 emotional and school readiness.

The ational !olicy on Education 9!E /,86: has ac-no'ledged Early

Childhood Care and Education 9ECCE: for children belo' 6 years to be a

significant in"ut for "rimary education0 both as a feeder "rogramme forschool "re"aration and as a su""ort "rogramme for girls( education.

%tudy conducted by Gorld 1an- 9*+/$: re"orts that adding t'o years of "re

"rimary stage to the existing government elementary school 'ould be

beneficial to the student es"ecially the disadvantaged students0 society and

overnment. The study estimated that an initial investment o Rs. /=06++ crores and annual

s"end of Rs /*06$+ crores for the introduction of "reschool education.

Ac-no'ledging the significance of "reschool education0 /*th F! "ro"osed

that every "rimary school 'ould be facilitated to have a "re"rimary section

to "rovide "re"rimary education 'ith a school readiness "rogramme for atleast one year for children in the age grou" of four to six years.

CABE


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The conce"t of &early learning units( 'ould be introduced 'hich 'ould

bring together the "re"rimary and early "rimary grades into an integrated

unit. The im"lementation 'ould be "hased out and by the end of the

T'elfth !lan? about $+ "er cent of the schools 'ould have "re"rimary

classes 9/*th five year "lan */.#80 "g $4:.

In vie' of this0 the extension of RTE *++, to include "reschool for

children in the age grou" of #6 years may be discussed and addressed.

The ational Early Childhood Care and Education 9ECCE: !olicy

reaffirms the commitment of the overnment of India to "rovide

integrated services for holistic develo"ment of all children0 along the

continuum0 from the "renatal "eriod to six years of age.

The vision of the ational ECCE !olicy is to "romote inclusive0 e)uitable

and contextualied o""ortunities for "romoting o"timal develo"ment and

active learning ca"acity of all children belo' 6 years of age.

CABE


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It recognies the synergistic and interde"endent relationshi" bet'een

health0 nutrition0 "sychosocial and emotional needs of the child. The!olicy focus is on early "reschool learning for every child belo' six years

The -ey areas of this "olicy are universal access 'ith e)uity and inclusion0

)uality in ECCE0 strengthening ca"acity0 monitoring and su"ervision0

advocacy0 research and revie'.

In conformity 'ith ational ECCE !olicy0 "re"rimary education is a "artof the Integrated Child evelo"ment %ervices 9IC%: "rovided by the

overnment through the 3inistry of Gomen and Child evelo"ment

9GC:.

IC% is one of the flagshi" "rogrammes of the overnment of India and

re"resents one of the 'orld(s largest and uni)ue "rogrammes for earlychildhood care and develo"ment. It is the aimed at children and nursing

mothers0 as a res"onse to the challenge of "roviding "reschool nonformal

education on one hand and brea-ing the vicious cycle of malnutrition0

morbidity0 reduced learning ca"acity and mortality on the other.

CABE


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The beneficiaries under the %cheme are children in the age grou" of +6

years0 "regnant 'omen and lactating mothers. Bnder the restructuredIC% %cheme0 the Angan'adi 'ill be the first village out"ost for health0

nutrition and early learning for children and mothers.

The IC% team com"rises the Angan'adi Gor-ers0 Angan'adi


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At the im"lementation level0 the res"ective e"artments are ex"ected to build on the conce"tual synergies and "romote a""roaches that 'ill enable

children to ma-e the transition easily from the Angan'adis to the school

system and to ma-e them better learners.

The convergence in many instances has been facilitated by colocation of

Angan'adi Centers and "rimary school cam"us or establishment ofAngan'adi Centers in close "roximity 'ith schools.

1oth0 the 3inistry of


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The increasing com"lexity of modern societies0 -no'ledge and

information intensive social and 'or- milieu ma-es it necessary to ac)uire

more years of schooling even to "erform minimal functions.

The 4 or 8 years of basic schooling im"arting basic numeracy and literacy

is increasingly becoming inade)uate. !eo"le no' re)uire a basic

com"ulsory education that goes beyond basic numeracy and literacy as

secondary education 'ould hel" them to ac)uire at least rudimentary

abilities to critically thin- and to learn.

It is being increasingly recognied that elementary education of 8 years

does not e)ui" the children 'ith ade)uate com"etencies and s-ills to live

and to "artici"ate in contem"orary technological advanced era.

CABE

Extension of RTE 2009 toSecondary Education


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It is also argued that investment in secondary education yields considerablesocial and economic returns0 ma-ing it crucial for national develo"ment

9Gorld 1an-0 /,,=0 *++$0 *++,? Tila-0 *++/? 3u-ho"adhyay0 *++40

1is'al *+//:.

3ost of the economic and em"loyment gro'th over the "ast ten years in

India has ta-en "lace in s-illed services 9information technology0 financial

services0 telecommunications0 tourism and retail: and s-illintensive

manufacturing0 all of 'hich re)uire0 at a minimum0 a secondary education

degree 9Gorld 1an-0 *++,:.

lobaliation and the gro'th of -no'ledgebased economies give a sense

of urgency to the heightened demand for secondary education.

In the "ast0 secondary education "rimarily served the elite as an

educational transition to higher education. Today secondary education is

vie'ed as a necessary ste" to lifelong learning0 critical for successful

em"loyment and life.

CABE


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At the individual level0 secondary education em"o'ers and "re"ares theyouth for the labour mar-et0 "ursuing higher education and "ersonal

develo"ment.

%econdary education has "roven to be "roviding more benefits in

im"roving the health0 gender e)uality and living conditions.

It is also critical to brea-ing the intergenerational vicious cycle of "overty.For achieving the sustainable develo"ment the youth needs to be "rovided

minimum of /+ years of school education.

In many nations li-e Australia0 5a"an0 e' Lealand0 Dorea0 com"ulsory

schooling extends to at least lo'er secondary education covering /+ or

more years of schooling. Time is no' ri"e to ex"lore the "ossibility of extending the years of

com"ulsory education0 by im"lication extending the years of education

"rovided as "art of Right to Education0 to /+ years of education.

CABE


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The Dothari Commission 9/,6#: suggestion to have undifferentiated

curriculum till /+ years of schooling may in fact hint at the desirability of/+ years of com"ulsory schooling.

The information and -no'ledge intensive ambience in every s"here of

human activity ma-es it im"erative to raise the minimum level of

education to be ac)uired by all children at least to secondary education i.e./+ years of education.

The //th five year "lan "ro"osed a road ma" to achieve universal secondary

education and targeted to increase ER from $* in *++#+$ to 4$ by

*+///*. As "art of //th F! the Rashtriya 3adhaymi- %hi-sha Abhiyan

9R3%A: 'as initiated to achieve B%E. Though 'e have achieved nearly universal elementary education but at the

secondary level the ER stands at 48.$/ and ER as lo' as at #8.#6

in *+/#/$.

CABE


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Further0 the /*th five year "lan "ro"oses to achieve near universalenrolment in secondary education 'ith the ER exceeding ,+ "ercent by

*+/49/*th five year "lan !g.4*:.

And em"hasied on im"arting vocational and technical s-ills 'hile

recommending higher investments to "rovide secondary schools 'ith

e)ui"mentMs 9such as 'or-sho"s0 machines and com"uter e)ui"ment andtrained teachersHtrainers having technical s-ills:.

CA1E committee on secondary education "ro"osed universaliation of

secondary education by the year *+*+.

CABE


19/19

CABE

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Presentation CABE (1)