Children are our future and primary education prepares a child for the future. Any kinds of negligence in realization of children’s right to education will have serious ramification on society.
Universal, free and compulsory quality primary education for all remains a distant dream in spite of effort to recognise education as a fundamental right. The 86th constitutional amendment in 2002 made education a fundamental right inserted in Article 21A and later in 2009 the Right to Education (RTE) Act was passed to realize the right enforced since April 2010.
The recent trend in Odisha shows a negative picture in the primary education sector of the rural areas where mostly the poor villagers depend on Government run schools. Though the educational statistics of the State has been changing in terms of increase in enrolment but the quality of primary education and the overall improvement of the sector in the State, as reported by mostly by the Government agencies, has been a matter of grave concern. There have been every day reports in media about teachers’ strike for regularization of employment and hike in salary, along with poor status of schools, non-availability of basic infrastructures such as school building, toilet, drinking water, playground, class room, library and inadequate female teacher and also the most important poor student and teacher ratio. The annual status of education report 2010 says 45 per cent of children in standard three cannot read the standard one level text. Odisha is among high private tuition States such as Bihar. There are hundreds of habitations without school within one km radius. The teacher unrest continues with faulty recruitment policy of the Government. The recent suspension of four thousand contract teachers shows the non-serious attitude of State Government towards primary education system.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2014 reports about poor status of primary education in Odisha and says that the teacher -student ratio remains as high as 1:187 in primary schools as about fifty thousand posts of teachers remain vacant during 2009-2014.Thousands of under qualified teachers, under matriculate and without professional training are continuing in primary schools. There are different categories of teachers without role clarity and serious disparity exists in salary and benefits available. Some of the teachers are not even getting minimum wage declared by the Government for unskilled workers. The enrolment in elementary stage has decreased in 2013-2014 which is seen as a failure of the Government run schools and paves way for privatization as the children enrolment in private schools has increased in rural areas.
There has been weak implementation of the provisions of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 in the State. For last few years, the State Budget shows that the the Government spends only about four per cent of its gross domestic product on education. The State continuously failed to avail the Central assistance in the absence of non-availability of matching State share though education is in concurrent list after 42nd constitutional amendment in 1976 which has created scope of joint responsibility in many ways including sharing of financial resources by the State and the Centre. The implementation of programmes by Government for promoting primary education such as DPEP in 1996, Sarva Shikshya Abhijan (SSA) in 2003 and Mid-day Meal (MDM) in 1995 has been poor which helped little in developing the quality of education in rural areas.
The Anganwadi centers (AWCs) which provide pre -school education along with food supplement for the mental and physical growth of children in rural areas are in a state of disarray. The AWCs run with a number of limitations because of lack of awareness in community and poor monitoring system by the implementing department. Many of the centers face the problem of inadequate and timely supply of rice. It is reported that about 50 centers in Gop block of Puri district have no rice and the Aganawadi workers have borrowed rice from the village to feed the children. The quality of food and the process of preparation have been always poor. Without proper kitchen and hygienic method, the meals are prepared. It is reported from many parts of the State that the foods served to the children affects their health. Insects, reptiles and lizards fall on the food bowls as the food containers are not covered properly. The condition of MDM in schools is also equally deplorable. He problem is acute in interior and tribal areas.
In a recent hearing of petition on poor status of MDM by State School and Mass Education Department, the State Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice Birakishore Mishra ordered the State Government to form an expert committee to review the MDM programme and asked the officials to visit the schools in remote tribal areas to find out the causes of non-implementation of the guidelines and contingency plan relating to the meal scheme.
It is not only the quality of food, but also the dignified distribution of food has been a matter of concern in the Government run institutions in villages. Though the nutritional supplement programme for children primarily targets the poor and marginalized sections in rural villages but children of these communities face social exclusion in getting their entitlements as the location of the centres are near dominant community habitations and mostly managed by excluding the poor and marginalised in the village. There are reports of separate seating arrangement and discriminatory treatment with children of socially excluded groups while serving the food from distance. The social identity is a matter of controversy in appointment of cook in almost every village and the guideline of the Supreme Court has been just violated to appease the sentiment of the dominant communities.
The other benefits provided by the State to children of marginalized sections to increase their enrolment and attendance in school such as school dress, books, bicycles for SC and ST girls, pre-matric scholarship and other incentives are not reaching to them on time and students have to face a number of hurdles to access these benefits from the schools. There has been report of delay and bureaucratic hurdles to get caste and residential certificate from the Revenue offices. Many of the illiterate parents have to visit Revenue offices and pay unusual fee to local middle men to get certificates. The very attitude of the service providers is discriminatory and mostly the local officials lack civic sense and human courtesy while dealing with the poor and marginalized section of our society. The process of restricted access to Government supported benefits largely impact over the education of the marginalized section in rural areas. While ensuring quality education in rural areas for the poor, there should be effort by the Government to address the pressing issues of children of the marginalized poor in rural areas by effective implementation of laws and programmes. The most important The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, The Odisha Right of Children To Free and Compulsory Education Rules 2010, along with The Child labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986 and The Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 need to be enforced for the interest of the children of the poor and marginalized sections in rural areas.
The School and Mass Education, Women and Child Development, labour and ST and SC Development departments should work together and make a collective action plan for prohibition of child labour and for eradication of socially discriminatory practices against children of socially excluded groups in Anganwadi and schools in the rural area. It will help in reducing the dropout and child labour and in building socially inclusive environment in our educational institutions along with quality education.
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