A closer reading of the Bill however, makes one wonder whether it would really be capable of meeting its lofty objectives. The process of arriving at consensus decisions, so important in any democratic system, often ignores the larger objective, focusing instead on the smaller, more acceptable bits of the issue. As a result, what is finally acceptable to all parties is often an animal that tries very hard but satisfies no one completely, which indeed was the fate of the earlier version of this Bill in 2005. The present Bill unfortunately appears to be much the same.

To start with, the Bill is completely input oriented, with no reference to quality outcomes. For instance, to be a recognised institution, a school must provide a certain number of teachers based on the number of enrolled students; however, beyond specifying the so-called duties of teachers, the Bill is silent on what action should be taken if the requisite number of teachers is present but — as is sadly often the case in government schools — not teaching.

Children in schools in India are already not learning very much. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2008 reports that nearly 96 percent children in the 6-14 year age group are enrolled in school. However, learning levels appear to be stagnant or declining, with for instance, only 41 percent across Grades 1 to 8 being able to read simple stories in 2008 as opposed to 43.6 percent in 2005. Similarly, only 27.9 percent children across grades could do simple division sums in 2008, as compared to 30.9 percent in 2005. The provision in the Bill that stipulates that no child shall be held back in any class is likely to compound this problem. The problem of children’s learning is thus neatly transferred to the secondary stage, albeit ostensibly meeting the Constitutional requirement of providing elementary education.

Most educational experts agree that the foundation for schooling is laid in the early years, between the ages of 3-6 years. Yet this Bill only enjoins upon the government to consider making necessary arrangements for providing free pre-school education. This follows from the flawed 86th Amendment itself, which restricts the right to education to those between the ages of 6-14 years, even though India is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which holds a citizen to be anyone below 18 years. There are many who believe that unless the 86th Amendment is revised to include all children up to 18 years, any legislation based on it is doomed to failure.

The Bill stipulates that for grades 1-5, for every sixty children there shall be two teachers, for every ninety children, three and so on, thus legitimising multi-grade teaching. Hence, even if the children were attending different grades, they would end up being taught by the same teacher, in the same classroom.

All that the present Bill effectively ensures is the right of children to enrol in and attend some form of school. The question that we must ask ourselves is whether we want our children to have a right to schooling or a right to education.

The writer was director in the HRD ministry, 2001-2006, and was associated with Right to Education Bill, 2005 drafting committee.

He now works with the SRF Foundation