ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Archana MehendaleSubscribe to Archana Mehendale

Towards a New Education Policy

There is a New Education Policy which is now being formulated by the Government of India. A discussion of these efforts in the context of past efforts at policy formulation, the continuities and discontinuities over time and then a presentation of a set of practical recommendations for current attempts at policy reform.

Right to Education and Inclusion in Private Unaided Schools

Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides for inclusion of children from disadvantaged and weaker sections in private unaided schools. Although meant to foster inclusion and achieve social justice objectives, this legal provision has been highly contested and its implications for the expanding private sector in school education are not fully understood. This article is based on an exploratory study, conducted in Bengaluru and Delhi, which examines the status of implementation of this provision with a view to delineate key issues at the level of state administration, schools and parents. Using qualitative data collected from the two sites, the study compares and comments on the extent to which the provision has been able to deliver on its purported goal of inclusion. It concludes by identifying gaps and challenges that require an urgent policy response.

Children's Commissions

This article raises two fundamental questions with regard to the role of state vis-à-vis human rights institutions for children. First, why does the state constitute these bodies if there is lack of commitment to ensure their effective functioning? Second, how signifi cant are the recent strides made in legislation on child rights if the institutions meant to implement and monitor them are not in place?

Model Rules for the Right to Education Act

The notification of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 depends on how soon an acceptable formula for sharing the financial burden between the centre and states is worked out and the model rules are drafted. The committee formulating the model rules could learn from states with well developed codes, legislation and rules on school education and should consider incorporating effective provisions into the central model rules. These can thus become the means to facilitate policy transfers across states.

Children's Commission

The CMP of the UPA government does not propose a specialised agency for the protection and promotion of child rights in India, though such plans have been officially expressed. The CMP only pays lip service to the cause of protecting child rights and has failed to outline concrete steps to deal with children's rights holistically.

Children's Rights

The UN Convention on Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international treaty for children, yet the task of monitoring children's rights remains particularly complex. Though a well-defined structure for monitoring exists at the international level, at the domestic level, among countries that are signatories, many lacunae persist as regards monitoring structures and processes. This contradiction was well highlighted in a recent session of the CRC when India's First Periodic Report was discussed.

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