State plans to line students’ pockets
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: In a bid to draw more children into schools and raise the overall
enrollment rates, the Maharashtra government is considering paying students
a small sum as pocket money. While the finer details are being worked out, a
government resolution passed on September 20 has noted that it’s essential
to pull in every child into school, even if it means paying some money to
the student.
Since 1982, the government has been paying a nominal Upastithi Bhatta
(attendance allowance) of Re 1 per day to girl students for each day of
attendance. But some experts say a more refined system needs to be in place
to curb child labour. To pull in thousands of children engaged in domestic
work, agriculture activity, industrial labour or even begging, the state may
need to enforce a welfare measure that would offer immediate monetary
benefits to those getting education, and thus offset the loss in income to
poor families.
Reacting to the proposal, Farida Lambay of Pratham, an NGO that works
with schools, said, “The Upastithi Bhatta scheme has worked well in several
rural and tribal blocks. It’s like an incentive. This proposal will have to
be monitored well in terms of the beneficiary and the attendance. The money
can be increased slightly to take care of educational needs.
The model Right to Education bill drafted by the Centre expects every
child in the age group of 6-14 years to be in school. Maharashtra needs to
pull up its socks given the fact that although the literacy rate in the
state is 76.9%, much above the national average of 66%, in absolute terms,
there were 4.28 lakh children out of school in 2004.
Following a meeting of all principal secretaries (elementary and
secondary education) in Delhi last week, Anand Kulkarni, state principal
secretary for school education, said, “Some states have decided to implement
the bill in toto. Maharashtra has decided to set up an expert panel,
understand the implications and amend the bill to suit the state.”
The latest GR speaks not just about introducing new schemes to boost
literacy and widen the spread of education, but promises to evaluate
existing programmes and work towards bettering the enrollment rate. It
speaks of a plan for upkeep of pre-primary, primary and secondary schools,
enrolling out-ofschool children, reducing the dropout rate and absenteeism,
improving teaching-learning quality, introducing scholarships, and
monitoring the supply of textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meals.
The steering committee in Maharashtra, which will study the intricacies
of the Right to Education bill and make additions or amendments, will be led
by former Union education secretary Kumud Bansal. Other members include
quality assessment programme director J M Abhayankar, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
state prject director Narendra Kawde, deputy director Suryakan Patil and CEO
of Ahmednagar Zilla Panchayat Rajaka Lavangare.
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