AKHIL BHARATIYA JANWADI MAHILA SANGHATANA, MAHARASHTRA CONFERENCE PLEDGES TO STRIVE FOR WIDEST UNITY OF WOMEN

CALLING for more militant struggles on crucial issues such as the increasing number of crimes against women in the state, the dismal state of the public distribution system and against the liberal liquor policy of the state government, the eighth state conference of the Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana, Maharashtra concluded at Mumbai on April 25, 2010. The conference, held against the backdrop of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of the state of Maharashtra, recalled the glorious struggle for the formation of the state on the basis of linguistic principles. It noted that the slogan of 'Samajwadi Maharashtra in a Samajwadi Bharat' remained unfinished. The conference pledged to strive for the widest unity of women across the state, especially at a time when regional chauvinism and communal forces were out to rupture the basic unity of the working people.

275 delegates from 19 districts, including five fraternal delegates gathered at the venue named after the beloved founder president of the organisation, veteran Communist leader and doyen of the women’s movement in India, Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar. The hall commemorated another beloved leader, Kalindi Deshpande. In a moving welcome address, the chairperson of the reception committee, Dr (Prof) Rohini Gawankar, former Head of the PG Department of Political Science, SNDT Women’s University recollected the unparalleled role of women in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. She noted how the leadership of Ahilya Rangnekar and other stalwarts galvanised ordinary women into a highly political force that took on bullets and tear gas of the Congress government without fear. Three women were martyred in the struggle. Women participated in the struggle on their own initiative, raising funds, organising conventions, addressing meetings, courting arrest, and were an integral part of a movement that forged a firm unity of the working class and the peasantry all across Maharashtra. It was the same kind of political mobilisation that was required to meet the current challenges facing women, she said.

Inaugurating the conference, the president of AIDWA Subhashini Ali recalled the important role played by the women of Mumbai, particularly when the women’s movement in the country took a new turn at the beginning of the 70’s. Pointing out that the election of Obama had in no way loosened the grip of US imperialism, she said that we must note its close connection with the rise of terrorist forces across the world. Here in our country, the UPA government, that appeared strong a year ago, is now on the back foot primarily because of its relentless pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies that have led to high inflation. Women have to unite to strengthen democratic structures in the country, which are increasingly under attack, as seen in the preposterous demand by the Jat Mahapanchayat to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, or a persistent campaign against the so-called “misuse” of Sec 498A of the IPC. The struggle for the women’s reservation bill was part of this effort, and she exhorted the delegates to strengthen the organisation in Maharashtra towards this end.

Among the guests who graced the occasion were representatives of other women’s organisations and women’s studies centres from Mumbai, particularly Chaya Datar, former Director of the Women’s Studies Unit of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Jyoti Mhapsekar from Stri Mukti Sanghatana, Chandra Srinivasan from the Samajwadi Mahila Sabha and C S Lakshmi and Dr Divya Pande from SPARROW; they all greeted the delegates and called for more concerted efforts to jointly address major issues facing women in Maharashtra. In addition, P R Menon, president of the National Railway Mazdur Union, Dr Tapati Mukhopadhyaya, general secretary of the Bombay University & College Teachers Union, Vivek Monteiro, secretary, CITU Maharashtra, Prakash Chowdhury, general secretary of the Maharashtra unit of the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union, Ghanshyam Patil, treasurer, Maharashtra state Kisan Sabha, Shailendra Kamble, state president of the DYFI and Dada Shinde, state president of the SFI also addressed the conference. A common thread in their speeches was the need for better coordination between their organisations and JMS on common issues.

59 delegates spoke on the report placed by the state secretary, Mariam Dhawale. They strengthened the report with their own analysis based on their particular experiences and the interventions made by JMS on the various issues outlined in the report – the severe agrarian crisis, the struggle for food security, the increasing violence and immiserisation caused by liberally flowing liquor, the growing malnutrition and declining health of women, especially those involved in hard manual labour, the indifference of the police and the judiciary to rising crimes against women, problems of living in cities, etc. They also explained how they were making efforts to build the organisation and the difficulties encountered in the process. Many of them clearly stated the need for a Left political alternative as a means to address these issues. A most heartening aspect was the fact that a significant number of Muslim women came forward to speak on the report.

On the second day, the delegates broke up into four groups. They participated in lively discussions on four commission papers titled ‘the agrarian crisis and women, ‘we and the struggle to end caste oppression’, ‘the maharashtra government’s liquor policy’ and ‘report of the jms survey of young women in Maharashtra.’ The discussions were reported in the concluding session on the last day. Several resolutions were also placed and passed during the conference. These were on ‘pledge to unite women to keep Maharashtra united’, ‘on climate change and women’, ‘on the demands of beedi workers’, ‘media, money power and elections’, ‘against rising prices’, ‘on housing for poor and single women’, ‘against rising crimes against women in Maharashtra’ and for ‘passage of the women’s reservation bill’. The conference also resolved to approach the government of Maharashtra and the Bombay Municipal Corporation to erect a befitting memorial in the memory of Comrade Ahilya Rangnekar, who was at the forefront of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, and also fought for the civic rights of thousands of Mumbaikars while she was a member of the Corporation for more than 20 years.

Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary of AIDWA summed up the proceedings of the conference. She congratulated the Maharashtra unit for its steady growth, and called for greater mobilisation. She pointed out the need to take up the special issues of dalit women, after identifying the types of discrimination faced by them. The SHG experience also needed to be critically examined. Many JMS members were being elected to local self government bodies, but the organisation had to take the initiative to organise ideological and practical training for them. Some more organisational effort was required in order to avoid stagnation. More had to be done to build links with fraternal organisations, especially those of working women, she said.

The conference elected a 58 member state committee, which in turn elected 18 office bearers. Kiran Moghe is the state president, Sonya Gill the state secretary and Hemlata Patil will continue as treasurer. 25 delegates were also elected for the ninth AIDWA conference to be held at Kanpur in November 2010.

Source: People’s Democracy dated 23-05-2010

CONGRESS DOES NOT GIVE ANY IMPORTANCE TO THE RUMOUR OF COMMUNAL RIOT IN WEST BENGAL SPREAD BY INDIAN RAILWAY MINISTER MAMATA BANERJEE

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WESTERN MEDIA SHAMELESSLY TARGETS CUBA

SOME RELEVANT QUESTIONS ABOUT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS-2010 IN WEST BENGAL

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HOW MANY MASKS DOES RAILWAY MINISTER MAMATA BANERJEE WEAR ? - EDITORIAL OF GANASHAKTI DATED 13-05-2010

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TWO MINOR GIRLS ABDUCTED BY MAOIST RAPISTS IN BANDOWAN, PURULIA

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FRAUD INTELLECTUALS OF WEST BENGAL SOLD OUT TO CORPORATE MEDIA

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INSANE MAOIST BUTCHERS OF “THE STATESMAN” SLAIN INNOCENT VILLAGER ORPHANING HIS WIFE & DAUGHTER IN THE NAME OF REVOLUTION

WIFE AND DAUGHTER BESIDE THE DEAD-BODY OF HARIPADA SINGHA ON BASANTPUR ROAD IN DAHIJURI VILLAGE OF JHARGRAM, WEST BENGAL ON 05-05-2010. HARIPADA SINGHA WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY THE PERVERTED AND INSANE MAOIST COMRADES OF ARUNDHATI ROY, MAHASWETA DEVI, MEDHA PATKAR, “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES” (PUCL), “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS”(PUDR), ASSOCIATION FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (APDR) AND OTHER SO-CALLED INTELLECTUALS AND HUMAN RIGHT ORGANISATIONS AND CORPORATE MEDIA

INSANE MAOIST BUTCHERS OF “THE STATESMAN” SLAIN INNOCENT VILLAGER ORPHANING HIS WIFE & DAUGHTER IN THE NAME OF REVOLUTION

WIFE AND DAUGHTER BESIDE THE DEAD-BODY OF HARIPADA SINGHA ON BASANTPUR ROAD IN DAHIJURI VILLAGE OF JHARGRAM, WEST BENGAL ON 05-05-2010. HARIPADA SINGHA WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY THE PERVERTED AND INSANE MAOIST COMRADES OF ARUNDHATI ROY, MAHASWETA DEVI, MEDHA PATKAR, “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES” (PUCL), “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS”(PUDR), ASSOCIATION FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (APDR) AND OTHER SO-CALLED INTELLECTUALS AND HUMAN RIGHT ORGANISATIONS AND CORPORATE MEDIA

INSANE MAOIST BUTCHERS OF “THE STATESMAN” SLAIN INNOCENT VILLAGER ORPHANING HIS WIFE & DAUGHTER IN THE NAME OF REVOLUTION

WIFE AND DAUGHTER BESIDE THE DEAD-BODY OF HARIPADA SINGHA ON BASANTPUR ROAD IN DAHIJURI VILLAGE OF JHARGRAM, WEST BENGAL ON 05-05-2010. HARIPADA SINGHA WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY THE PERVERTED AND INSANE MAOIST COMRADES OF ARUNDHATI ROY, MAHASWETA DEVI, MEDHA PATKAR, “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES” (PUCL), “PEOPLE’S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS”(PUDR), ASSOCIATION FOR PROTECTION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS (APDR) AND OTHER SO-CALLED INTELLECTUALS AND HUMAN RIGHT ORGANISATIONS AND CORPORATE MEDIA

COAL STRIKE TO BEGIN MAY 5 MORNING - Jibon Roy

April 9 Joint Meeting Fails

IT has been learnt that the meeting held on April 9 with the minister of state for coal in New Delhi and attended by leaders of five national federations of coal workers could not reach a common ground even after a hectic discussion for three hours for a resolution of the issues involved in the proposed 72 hours strike in the industry. The meeting was chaired by secretary of coal C Balakrishnan, while Rajendra Prasad Singh (INTUC), Rajendra Singha (HMS), and Ramendra Kumar (AITUC), among others, represented the trade union side. Jibon Roy represented the All India Coal Workers Federation.

It is to be noted that the five federations that have jointly called for the strike are affiliated to the INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU.

These federations have jointly called for the strike on the basis of a 10 points charter of demands adopted at a meeting held at Ranchi, and announced through a press conference that coal workers would go on strike from the morning shift on May 5. The April 9 meeting was called in response to this joint declaration that had been duly faxed to both the secretary of coal and chairman of the Coal India Ltd.

The Coal India management and the representatives of the trade unions have already presented their respective views on the charter of demands. In view of the fact that the meeting could not break a common ground for resolution of the disputes, the national federations have reaffirmed their decision to stage a strike action. The trade unions have pointed out that the decision of disinvestment is not the making of the management, the onus for the strike lies with the government of India. It is now the latter that has to decide whether it would face the strike or avoid it by withdrawing the disinvestment proposal. Trade unions view the disinvestment proposal as a prelude to total privatisation of the coal industry which, they pointed out, the government of India has been seeking through legislative route since the last one and a half decades. The government has also given enough indication that if the coal workers refuse to accept the disinvestment decision, it would do the same through the backdoor, as is being done in several cases.

Coal India chairman Partha Bhattacharya wanted the trade unions to accept the government decision for disinvestment of 10 per cent of its equity in the industry, and maintained that such disinvestment is required in the interest of the coal industry and coal workers. He even tried to glorify the disinvestment proposal by telling how the allocation of one per cent share to coal workers would benefit them. But the trade union leaders communicated to the government in unequivocal terms that they would never allow the government to use the ruse of coal workers’ interests for opening the gate of privatisation in the industry.

Similarly, trade union representatives argued that no reasoning would justify opening coal mines in foreign lands while neglecting the techno-economic needs for reopening the closed but economically viable mines and starting new mining in virgin areas. When Bhattacharya took the position that the industry could never get viable without outsourcing and engagement of contract workers, the trade union argued that outsourcing and compartmentalisation of labour structure would ultimately be the worst enemy of mine development. This would push the mining areas into the laps of the mafia gangs. They argued further that if the international prices of coal are taken into consideration, one obviously finds sufficient room for giving the minimum wage to the contract workers.

Another important demand of the unions is that the management must reduce the gap in wages and other benefits accruing to the regular workers and contract workers by providing the latter the minimum wage due to a permanent worker. Similarly, the management must bring parity in the fringes and retiring benefits between the workers and the officers. They accused the management of fraud in keeping most of the contract workers out of the scope of provident fund and pension. They explained how perquisites may attract coal workers to areas that are far from the urban opulence.

The unions have also demanded that the ministry must prepare a viable rehabilitation package for the land-losers, include both compensation and employment component to their satisfaction. Trade unions say unless the government gives the land-losers such a compensation package, opening of mining in new areas would continue to remain a distant dream.

The management has in the meantime embarked upon a massive propaganda campaign in support of privatisation. No less than the chairman of Coal India Ltd himself is mobilising the members of line managements. They are advised to hold workers’ meeting to feed them all kind of disinformation in support of disinvestment and to allure them in the name of share allocation. The chairman himself has addressed a number of such meetings. His special target are the workers supporting the All India Coal Workers Federation and the committee members of its local affiliates.

The AICWF has asked all its affiliates to take measures to frustrate such a campaign against the strike. It is expected that the government may call yet another meeting, but it is certain that it would continue to stick to its agenda of coal mine privatisation. The AICWF affiliates have been asked to involve the mass of the workers in a counter campaign and take special care that all their ground level committees are involved in the counter campaign and the strike.

As decided by all the federations, all the company level unions served strike notices on April 19 through joint demonstrations. As was expected, workers joined these demonstrations in a massive way. All the trade unions affiliated to the All India Coal Workers Federation had been urged to play a leading role in this whole process.

Courtesy: People’s Democracy dated 25-04-2010

ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION (AIDWA) LAMBASTS KHAP MAHAPANCHAYAT’S DEMANDS

IN a statement issued from New Delhi on April 14, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has expressed deep concern about the demand for amendment to the Hindu Code Bill that has been made by the khap mahapanchayat in the wake of the recent landmark judgement of the Karnal district court in the Manoj-Babli case. (See p 4 on the details of this case and the issues involved.) The Hindu Code Bill did away with centuries old injustice and there is no way that the women of this country will allow any dilution.

Murder under any name can never be justified, and the attempt by the khap panchayats to do so is violative of the rule of law in our country. The AIDWA has demanded that the murderers of couples like Manoj and Babli must be made accountable for their crime. Any attempt for justification under the guise of protecting the “tradition and culture,” as defined by these self-styled gatekeepers, has to be resolutely thwarted.

Moreover, the right of an adult to marry a person of one’s choice is a fundamental constitutional right that has to be zealously safeguarded from the regressive casteist elements who are trying to retain their hold on society by using threats and force.

The AIDWA statement also pointed out that the demand for amending the Hindu Code Bill to prevent same gotra marriages is a careful attempt to provide a seemingly scientific cover for what is in fact a challenge to the constitution. In many marriages where couples have been subjected to violence, the issue has not been one of gotra at all. The Haryana unit of AIDWA has intervened in many such cases, and found that most of the marital disputes were not because of marriages within the gotra or within the village yet the couples were thrown out of their villages and their parents were publicly humiliated. In some cases, this has been an excuse to drive away the concerned family to take over their land and property. The assertion of power over the community is a very blatant reason for this whole exercise.

Hence the AIDWA has called upon all democratic forces to meet such threats so that these regressive forces are not permitted to push back what has been achieved by way of our legal entitlements. The state too must come forward to safeguard the legal rights of its citizens. On the Ambedkar Jayanti Day this year, the AIDWA recalled Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s historic attempts to enshrine gender and caste equality in the Indian constitution, and pledged to carry forward the struggle for securing our democratic rights. (INN)

Source: People's Democracy dated 18-04-2010

ALL INDIA DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION (AIDWA) LAMBASTS KHAP MAHAPANCHAYAT’S DEMANDS

IN a statement issued from New Delhi on April 14, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has expressed deep concern about the demand for amendment to the Hindu Code Bill that has been made by the khap mahapanchayat in the wake of the recent landmark judgement of the Karnal district court in the Manoj-Babli case. (See p 4 on the details of this case and the issues involved.) The Hindu Code Bill did away with centuries old injustice and there is no way that the women of this country will allow any dilution.

Murder under any name can never be justified, and the attempt by the khap panchayats to do so is violative of the rule of law in our country. The AIDWA has demanded that the murderers of couples like Manoj and Babli must be made accountable for their crime. Any attempt for justification under the guise of protecting the “tradition and culture,” as defined by these self-styled gatekeepers, has to be resolutely thwarted.

Moreover, the right of an adult to marry a person of one’s choice is a fundamental constitutional right that has to be zealously safeguarded from the regressive casteist elements who are trying to retain their hold on society by using threats and force.

The AIDWA statement also pointed out that the demand for amending the Hindu Code Bill to prevent same gotra marriages is a careful attempt to provide a seemingly scientific cover for what is in fact a challenge to the constitution. In many marriages where couples have been subjected to violence, the issue has not been one of gotra at all. The Haryana unit of AIDWA has intervened in many such cases, and found that most of the marital disputes were not because of marriages within the gotra or within the village yet the couples were thrown out of their villages and their parents were publicly humiliated. In some cases, this has been an excuse to drive away the concerned family to take over their land and property. The assertion of power over the community is a very blatant reason for this whole exercise.

Hence the AIDWA has called upon all democratic forces to meet such threats so that these regressive forces are not permitted to push back what has been achieved by way of our legal entitlements. The state too must come forward to safeguard the legal rights of its citizens. On the Ambedkar Jayanti Day this year, the AIDWA recalled Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s historic attempts to enshrine gender and caste equality in the Indian constitution, and pledged to carry forward the struggle for securing our democratic rights. (INN)

Source: People's Democracy dated 18-04-2010

DR. MANMOHAN SINGH AND UPA ALLIANCES MUST ANSWER TO THE PEOPLE

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LEFT FRONT CANDIDATES CAMPAIGNING IN KOLKATA CORPORATION ELECTION-2010

EDUCATION ACT: GOALS TO BE ACHIEVED - G Selva

ON April 1, the Right to Education (RTE) Act finally became law, after an umpteen number of hard struggles. Yet it has a lot of loopholes, which may mar its very purpose.

This law has a long story behind it. Over half a century, countless number of men and women fought for such a law. The cry was intertwined with the freedom struggle, but the imperialist government rejected the bill Gopal Krishna Gokhale moved in this regard in the imperial council. This was also a dream of the founding fathers of Indian constitution. The law, now in existence, is thus only because of the strenuous efforts of our freedom fighters.

WHAT THE ACT SAYS

The act has the following provisions.

1) Every child in the 6-14 age group will be provided 8 years of elementary education in an age-appropriate classroom in his/her neighbourhood.

2) The state will bear any cost that prevents a child from accessing a school and shall have the responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring attendance and completion of 8 years of schooling. No child shall be denied admission for want of documents; no child shall be turned away if admission cycle in the school is over and no child shall be asked to take an admission test.

3) All private schools will be required to enrol children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in appropriate classes to the extent of 25 per cent of their enrolment. These children will be treated on par with other children in the school and subsidised by the state at the rate of average cost per learner in government schools.

4) All schools will have to follow the norms and standards laid out in the act and a school that does not fulfil these standards within 3 years will not be allowed to function. All private schools will have to apply for recognition, failing which they will be penalised to the tune of Rs one lakh and if they still continue the violation, they will be liable to pay Rs 10,000 per day as fine.

5) Norms and standards of teacher qualification and training will be laid down by an academic authority. Teachers in all schools will have to fulfil these norms within five years.

SERIOUS CONSIDERATIONS

The law says free and compulsory education is only for 6-14 years, i.e. from standard 1 to 8. Though this age group is crucial in a child’s life, we also need to look at the other side. In today’s world, no child can survive in a school without doing pre-primary education while education during 14-18 years of age is the gateway to higher education that decides one’s career. That is why the Left movements have been fighting for education for 0-18 years. The question of who a child is, remains ambiguous. The government which has accepted anybody less than 18 years of age as a child at various points, now refuses to accept it when it comes to providing education.

Common school education system aims at providing equal education with equal opportunities with similar infrastructure and facilities in all schools. Kothari commission said the unhealthy social segregation between the schools for the rich and those for the poor should end in order to strengthen social unity and provide equality of opportunity to the deprived sections of society. It also said primary schools must be made common and it must be obligatory for all children, irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, economic condition or social status, to attend the primary schools in their neighbourhood.

The provision of 25 per cent reservation in private schools for poor children looks good on the surface but does not lead to a common school model. Moreover, the infrastructures of many of these private schools leave a lot to be desired. With poorly paid teachers and cage like spaces, they look more like poultry farms than educational institutions.

As for the government schools, a report from the Bihar commission for common school system is illuminating. It says 25,000 new primary schools, 15,000 middle schools and 19,100 secondary schools have to be built in order to universalise free and compulsory education for children in the 6-14 age group in 5 years, for children from class 9 to 10 in 8 years and for those in class 9 to 12 in 9 years. The number of additional teachers to be recruited for meeting the norms set for universalisation would be 2.55 lakhs at primary level, 3.24 lakhs at the middle level and 4.29 lakhs at the secondary level. It stands to reason that the very first of the most essential recruitments to be fulfilled for universalising quality school education is to build so many additional schools, recruit additional teachers and provide them training. While this report highlights the shortcomings in Bihar, these are more or less common to every state in India.

The above report also reveals that most of the schools lack adequate teachers, proper buildings, playgrounds, chairs, tables, libraries and other infrastructure facilities. While this is the case in the state run government schools, the conditions in central government funded schools like the Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas as well as in private schools catering to the affluent are to the contrary. They have proper infrastructure, faculty and equipments to provide quality education. There can be no question of subsidising these private schools by the state.

Thus there can be no compromise on the common school issue. To implement a common school system which is the need of the hour, and to ensure universal enrolment, we need a large number of government or aided schools with hostel facilities, particularly in tribal areas. Every habitat must have a school up to class 12 within the prescribed distance. Though this part of the law does offer some solace, one has to guard against the substitution of private institutions for a common school system.

DROPOUTS & CHILD LABOUR

Two main impediments in the path of universalisation are dropouts and child labour. The government has to attend to these issues immediately.

The enrolment ratios in primary education, both gross and net enrolment ratios, have improved over the years. The ‘adjusted’ net enrolment ratio in primary education was 94 per cent in 2007, according to the Global Monitoring Report. But perhaps the most worrisome is the poor survival rate. Only 66 per cent of the children enrolled in class I survive up to class V in India, that is, as much as 34 per cent drop out midway. Obviously, a 90 to 95 per cent net enrolment ratio has no meaning if 34 per cent drop out. Rapid progress in net enrolment ratio is possible, but a more important challenge is to ensure their retention till class V and even beyond.

As the document of the SFI’s 13th all-India conference points out, the dropout rate is especially higher among girls, STs and SCs, the most downtrodden in our society. Unless the various factors that lead to their dropout are addressed, we cannot retain them in schools. Some of these are flexibility in school timings (modelling the academic session by taking into consideration the agricultural practices of the region, giving holidays during peak agricultural activity etc) and curricula to make schooling more relevant, linking schooling with employment opportunities, remodelling the teaching activity in the schools to generate interest among the students etc. Provision of schools within walking distance, of childcare facilities like crèches and mid-day meals in all localities, increasing the number of women teachers, other supportive schemes, reducing the private costs by providing free textbooks, uniforms, etc, will also ensure a lowering of dropout rates. Poverty is the most important factor determining many of a family’s decisions; this must not be forgotten while discussing other factors. The declining job opportunities in rural areas because of the neo-liberal policies is forcing large-scale migrations from villages, adversely affecting the children’s education and often forcing them to drop out. Also, poverty forces many children to work. But the experience shows the mid-day meals scheme has contributed to a reduction in the dropout rates, as families are assured of at least one meal for their children.

Take the instance of Virudhunagar, a district in south Tamilnadu. It is known for fireworks industry using child labour. The national programme to eradicate child labour did have, to an extent, a positive impact in the district. But, sadly, no fund was allocated for this programme in the past one year and this has led children to beg for food in the streets. Ironically, one could find the children begging for food on the same day the RTE Act was passed. It is evident that the government’s insensitivity was the sole reason for this tragedy.

The act does not specify qualification norms for teachers, nor does it institutionalise a primary teachers cadre. Teacher qualifications and pre-service training must be as per the NCTE Act, with dignified pay scales and service conditions as per the latest pay commission. The concept of parateachers, guest teachers and other categories of teachers must be done away with. Parateachers should be upgraded through specialised training within a specified period to ensure their full absorption within the regular national school system. The act does talk of filling the vacant teacher posts but there is enough reason to suspect the regime’s seriousness in this respect. With the onset of liberalisation, the government has nearly stopped opening new teacher training institutes; profit motivated private sector has taken over the teachers’ training. Unless this issue is addressed, quality of teachers in the country will continue to remain poor.

FUND ALLOCATIONS

Finance is essential for any plan, and RTE is no exception. The question of who is responsible for funding is being debated for over 16 years. The ratio of centre-state responsibility was earlier 75:25, which later became 65:35 and now it is 55:45. It is evident that the centre is trying to shirk its responsibility and overburden the states while the latter do need the centre’s support to varying extents. It’s high time the centre realises its responsibility and acts accordingly to implement the RTE in its best sense.

The law also needs to be changed so as to hand over the control of panchayat level schools to the local bodies. This will allow democratic control of local people over schools.

It is indeed positive that we now have this law. But we cannot sit and relax. The struggle has not come to an end. In the first place, this law has to be implemented fully to the benefit of the people. Secondly, the loopholes are to be removed and the positive suggestions from the Left movements incorporated. Only then can we be sure that this law will serve its purpose.

Source: People’s Democracy dated 11-04-2010