Prez signs Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill into law

In an encouraging wake of action the Indian government has issued a gazette notification of the law following President Pratibha Patil's signature on it, which aims at providing free and compulsory education to all children who fall in the age group of 6 to 14 years. It has already got the green signal from Indian Parliament on August 4.

According to this bill, the state governments have mere three years’ time for its implementation. This time period must be utilized to streamline neighborhood schools, their education infrastructure, ideal pupil-teacher ratio and admission procedures.
 
Amidst the welcome uproar of this bill, there is a cost related hitch to it. It is estimated that education department would be in need of about Rs 2 lakh crore over the next five years for the effectual enforcement of this proposal. An estimated shortfall of Rs 60,000 crore as been acknowledged by the HRD Ministry stating that additional allocations would have to be made.

The issue of finances as earned the ire of almost all states who are demanding maximum possible funding from the Centre so that this law can be implemented. All state education ministers convened at a meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education, held in Delhi where all these issues will brought up.

Several state education ministers are also expressing their confusing over the concept of 'free education'. Reacting to this, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, remarked,

“Free education would have to be defined by states, implying free books, uniform, school bus travel or anything.”

To solve the financial dilemmas of the state education ministries, he assured that based on all the estimates, a new finance-sharing formula will be decided soon after the Finance Commission is consulted to seek additional funds for states.