Is Education Really Available to Every Child in India?

Historically, education in India has always been for the elite. In pre-colonial times, it was reserved for the king's sons and later, in colonial times for the sons of babus. In this way, many sections of society, not to mention women were denied access to education.

After independence, postcolonial visionaries strove to right historical wrongs by making education accessible to every child, with a series of discussions leading to the formation of commissions (Kothari Commission) and the formulation of policies (National Education Policy: 1968 and 1986).

At the turn of the century, education in India was impacted by UNESCO's global campaign titled Education for All, as well as closer home with the SSA (Sarva Siksha Abhiyan) and the RMSA (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan), the national funded institutions were constituted. The biggest impact, however, came in 2009 with the Right to Education Act, which made education the fundamental right of every child in India.

Still, in reality even today, the dreams of many children regarding their right to education remain unfulfilled.

Listed as one of the topics in the concurrent list, the responsibility of imparting education rests on the shoulders of both the Centre and the state. As a parent institution, it is the national government that should take the onus of providing education to children regardless of where they live in the country. Every community should also strive to ensure that its children have access to education. Clive Harber put this beautifully in his book Schooling as violence, 'it is both intriguing and depressing to note that while the finest minds engaged themselves in the long struggle for universal basic education, once provision as such was universalized many of them lost interest in what was provided.'

One solution some parents have resorted to is sending their children to affordable private schools. But migration from government schools to affordable private schools is not and should not be the only solution, notwithstanding the fact that it causes an undue burden on the finances of the family.

All this is not to undermine the role the government has played to ensure access to quality education; it is just that it is not enough. The need of the hour is a revival of the country's public education system. With the even distribution of resources across all states, the dreams of all children having access to education can be translated into reality.

- By Mayopam, Implementation Manager - Manipur and Meghalaya

Meghshala