Should the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 be passed in its current form without discussion? The HRD Ministry seems to be quite keen to get the Bill passed in this session. This almost certainly means that it will have to be rushed and passed without amendments. Normally, public reaction is invited on such bills by the parliamentary committees. But, in case of this Bill, which has been in the public domain for just under two months, no responses from the public have been invited. It is this author’s observation that state administrators, political leaders, and the public at large are unaware of the contents and implications of the Bill, which is going to impact practically every child in the country not only now but for years to come.

So, there is justifiable suspicion that the government will not follow the due democratic process in a matter so important.

While the Bill has many details about setting up of and admission to schools, it does not adequately address the issue of attendance. Both, government commissioned and independent surveys indicate that while over 95% children are enrolled, the attendance against the school roster is only about 68 per cent in primary and 75 per cent in upper primary schools. The percentage of children who do not show up at all is not known. Street children, beggars, and runaways are in critical need of the “compulsory” education but there is no mention of compulsory attendance or a mechanism to ensure such attendance in schools.

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