Right to education is a very good move by the government. Education is the basic necessity and a basic right. Bringing more children to schools will be a solution for many problems our society is facing right now.
Reservation of 25% seats for children of lesser income groups is a very good move, as this brings down the differentiation between the haves and have-nots which is taking inception at the elementary school level. Bringing up children together without having a distinction based on their economic status will be a very good step forward towards social integrity; also this gives quality education for these children. This also reminds the private sector of its social responsibility, that they too have the responsibility in dealing with social problems.
There are questions that are to be answered as well. Are the government schools in India unable to provide education to these 25% children? Out of all the schools in India only 7% are private schools. What difference is it going to make from 25% of 7%. If at all government schools are up to the standards why are so many parents joining their children into private schools. If poor quality in education is the reason for parents to join their children private schools, is a mere 25% seat in private schools going to fulfil the purpose of right to education act when 93% of total schools in India (government schools in India) are not able to provide quality education. Will these 25% be treated fairly by the school management as there are not paying anything? More over they will treat them as a burden. Most importantly will this children be able to meet the other cost and requirements that school put on children like bus fees, other fees for extracurricular activities, and won’t this cause a inferiority complex among these students who are not able to afford all these when their mates are enjoying all these facilities.
I had all these doubts when I was listening to Mr Kapil Sibal’s speech yesterday. May be I have very little idea of the facts, but I feel the questions I have are to be properly dealt with. I feel that’s its very important to bring out quality in government schools so that they stand in par with the private schools. If the quality in government schools is maintained, many parents of higher income groups will be willing to send their children to government schools as the private school fees are too high these days. this too will bring down the discrimination.
