MHRD Realitycheck C

Petition to MHRD
from concerned citizens

Towards a free, non discriminatory,
& modern education law
In India
(The Right to Education Act)
6 MAY 2015
By
@realitycheckind
http://realitycheck.wordpress.com
Who are we ?
From vigilant social media
Common citizens
Grateful to MHRD Smriti Irani for

reaching out to citizens directly
Thousands of everyday people behind this
Whats at stake ?
Who gets to educate the
ENTIRE POPULATION
of the country as a captive audience

For the first 21 years of their lives ?
FAR REACHING - CAN MAKE OR BREAK NATONS DESTINY

Current situation CHAOS
Privateschoolsyettobereimbursed100CrinTN e sts
i n PI SA t
ond L AST
i sh es se c
DELHI NU India fin
RSERY AD
M ISSIONS F
IASCO
RTE Hits Enrolment in Govt schools
Schools ordered to shut down amid scarcity for RTE
MumbaiPreKGadmissionsheadedtoCourt
Confusionoverminorityschools
Education acvitist NGO charge school with violation
WHY CANT INDIA FIX EDU EVEN AFTER 70 YEARS ?
DESPITE HAVING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS DESIGN POLICIES

The False Division
GOVERNMENT SCHOOL HERE PRIVATE SCHOOL HERE
Lets focus on public schools Private school regulation
Goal is to make govt schools as Allow private schools

Good as private ones
Regulate fees
Most policy use this division (including RTE) and fumbles !!
Things arent that simple !!!

The Real Division
GOVERNMENT AIDED AIDED PRIVATE PRIVATE

MINORITY NON MINORITY HINDU
Regulate ability MINORITY RUN RUN
9 3 9 1 8
Real division is along sectarian lines due to peculiar Indian judicial evolution
Ability of govt to regulate the 5 categories are dramatically different
Attempts to secularize education policy have failed in courts due to prevailing wisdom
A large chunk of higher quality capacity is practically out of bounds due to minority status
Regulations and exemptions
Typical regulations use the false division and
create burdens to establish and run schools
The reality is however that minorities are able
to secure immunity/exemption on a facial
constitutional challenge
End result : Discriminatory regime replaces
what was a uniform social law
Right to Education Act is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon

Is discrimination bad ?
Schools are non profit unlike businesses
Without a commercial model ; what if one group is favored ?
As long as students benefit ?
Education may not be a COMMERCIAL activity but it is
still very much a COMPETITIVE activity
Both exempt and non-exempt schools draw students and
teachers from the same general population
Establishing schools is the time tested way to preserve and
propagate culture, values, and leave a legacy
Increases social standing, networking benefits,
Is RTE implementable
Unimplementable by design ? Best efforts in MH,
Delhi Nursery have failed with even courts unable to
grapple
Flawed at conceptual level of persons asserting
positive rights against other persons
Two biggest issues apart from minority exemption.
NOMINATION : Govt selects 'underprivileged' and
schools cannot contest
CROSS SUBSIDY : Refunds arent full therefore
balance has to be borne by paying students
Sec 12 ( 25% Quota nominated by govt) and Sec 18
( no screening)
Nomination
Basis of philanthropy is to select who you want to
help
No philanthropist voluntarily pays a higher tax or
just leaves money on the pavement
Abolition of screening for open seats (Sec 18)
Key incentive for providing education lost
Exempt religions however are able to retain this
power
Cross Subsidy
Cross subsidy is X pays for Y without going via the public
purse generally frowned upon
Baked into RTE because govt only refunds partial tuition
and does not refund uniforms/teaching aids/ extra
curriculars
Definition of DG in most states does not have income
criteria
Moral hazard if lower income student forced to subsidize
those with higher means & school mgmt forced to
implement this scheme
EWS could be a temporary state as fortunes change but
checking is only done at entry level
RTE of last 5 yrs
Schools closing down have tracked dozens of reports
involving thousands of schools
Few kids benefit on upside but downsides are not
highlighted by media or think tanks.
WORSE is the repelling effect this law has on NEW
schools opening up so it is a negative sum game
Each clause of the RTE is contentious and easy to
visualize litigating them all the way to the Supreme Court.
Crores pending dues to private schools instead of funding
govt ones
Exemption from this law is a crucial competitive
advantage given to minorities
Hindu trusts and temples
Currently unable to enter education sector
under the same rules available to minorities
Curious situation where incentives work against
local majorities most likely to provide edu on
philanthropic basis !!
TMA Pai granted parity to Hindu v Minority
annulled by UPA 93 Amendment
No other country has any thing like this !!
Equitable access important
Equitable access esp for SC/ST is a key concern but
RTE isnt the way to solve it
Severe oversubscription is the primary reason
Scarcity even at higher end = expensive private edu
Incumbents in enviable position due to near monopoly
hence pick and choose favorites
NOC/ Essentiality are anti competitive and create
territorial monopolies
Need a TOTAL FRESH LOOK to change direction
If nothing is done now
Gloom over edu sector
Repeating the same programs produce no results
Invidious exemption could lead to social strife as some
religions will behave in strategic manner
Minorities alone cannot provide all private capacity
Reckless behaviour by NGOs and Thinktanks who will
lock up schools in endless court cases over this or that
denial of rights
Social media is a vehicle for information & resistance
Ideas
Open up the 93rd Amendment & NCMEI for debate
Announce concern about sectarian exemption and start a
debate
SHORT TERM
Amend RTE without sacrificing nomination OR cross
subsidy
Amend RTE to use advance payments & treat amount as
scholarship (student pays balance)
Amend RTE to give govt money to private only when no
govt school nearby
Thanks
Chaos and poor quality after 70 years India

deserves better
New Education Policy is a valuable exercise
We have a new MHRD who can take a totally fresh

look at edu for first time in 68 years.

MHRD Realitycheck C

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MHRD Realitycheck C

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

MHRD Realitycheck C

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Petition to MHRD

from concerned citizens

(The Right to Education Act)

From vigilant social media

Grateful to MHRD Smriti Irani for

Who gets to educate the

of the country as a captive audience

FAR REACHING - CAN MAKE OR BREAK NATONS DESTINY

WHY CANT INDIA FIX EDU EVEN AFTER 70 YEARS ?

DESPITE HAVING HIGHLY QUALIFIED EXPERTS DESIGN POLICIES

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL HERE PRIVATE SCHOOL HERE

Lets focus on public schools Private school regulation

Goal is to make govt schools as Allow private schools

Things arent that simple !!!

GOVERNMENT AIDED AIDED PRIVATE PRIVATE

Ability of govt to regulate the 5 categories are dramatically different

Right to Education Act is the latest manifestation of this phenomenon

Chaos and poor quality after 70 years India

New Education Policy is a valuable exercise

We have a new MHRD who can take a totally fresh

You might also like