August 9, 2006

Model Right to Education Bill 2006

CRY, Child Rights and You, India's leading advocate for child rights, today described the UPA government's decision to return the Right to Education Bill 2005 to the states in a diluted version " the Model Right to Education Bill 2006 as a retrograde step and a direct onslaught on the Fundamental Right to Education.

Ingrid Srinath, Chief Executive, CRY says "It is an abdication of state responsibility and a betrayal of the people's mandate by the UPA government. It is in violation of the 86th constitutional amendment act passed in 2002 which declared " the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age of 6-14 yrs in such a manner as the state may by law determine." Despite its inherent flaws, the 2005 Bill had some provisions such as reservation of 25% seats for weaker sections in all State, Aided and Unaided schools.

She further adds, "The new Bill, which withdraws this provision, negates the rights of over 100 million Indian children who continue to be deprived of education in deference to the privatization lobby and will inevitably exacerbate disparities in our society. It holds our children ransom to Centre-State bickering on funding and reneges on the UPA government's election manifesto. Further, it betrays the trust that millions of tax-payers placed in the government's promise to universalize education via the 2% education cess.  A transparent public accounting of the Rs. 7000 crores collected through the cess is urgently needed."

"In a supreme irony, the new Bill, which absolves the State of its constitutional responsibility, seeks to hold parents who do not send their children to school accountable for the lapse, which is most often due to circumstances beyond their control. Moreover the provision is urban centric and completely neglects rural realities where 30% of schools have no building, 20% are run in a single room by a single teacher and 10% of schools have no blackboards."

"CRY and its partner organisations demand that the UPA government withdraw the Model Right to Education Bill 2006 immediately and table the Right to Education Bill 2005 in the monsoon session of parliament itself."

A "Jail Bharo" andolan has been planned by NAFRE (National Alliance for the Right to Education and Equity), a nation-wide alliance which CRY is a member of, in 15 states on August 14, 2006. The protest seeks to draw attention to the betrayal of the rights of our youngest citizens by the UPA government.

About CRY: CRY is a leading Indian non profit organization working for child rights. CRY believes that each child has a right to survival, protection, development and participation in an environment of equal opportunity. CRY's approach to sustainable development is based on the firm belief of community empowerment and citizen action whilst holding the state responsible for ensuring children's rights. CRY's objective is to demonstrate that real, sustainable change is possible through the building of grassroots models and through concerted advocacy for child rights.

For more information please contact: webinfo@crymail.org