Govt steps in to protect poor kids in schools

Govt steps in to protect poor kids in schools

The HRD ministry on Friday came out with guidelines for state governments and school managements to prevent discrimination against students belonging to economically weaker sections (EWS) and disadvantaged sections. The move comes after incidents of violations and discrimination against EWS students have been reported in schools across the country. However, activists working on the issue feel the guidelines do not ensure the very thing they aim to — accountability — and are too vague. Even though the Right to Education (RTE) has made education a fundamental right, activists have been saying that it lacks accountability and grievance redressal. One of the important things about the new guidelines is that it makes it ‘obligatory’ for schools to act within a time frame of 60 days to address complaints. However, Kiran Bhatty, former co-ordinator of the RTE cell at the National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights (NCPCR) says she objects to the very idea of making the school responsible for ensuring redressal. “How can you make the site of discrimination itself responsible for imparting justice. This goes against the very logic of natural justice”, she says. “The guidelines should have at least ensured that the obligation was with an authority outside of the school. In a way, the administration is abdicating its own responsibility”, she told DNA. Though the introduction to the guidelines says they are meant for “state governments and school managements”, the actual guidelines are directed only at schools. There is just one line asking state government and local authorities ‘to take appropriate action’ in case of violations by schools. The question remains how this will happen, which is the whole problem of accountability in the first place. Advocate Ashok Agarwal finds the time frame is a ‘good and welcome step’, and yet says the guidelines are ‘incomplete’. In the absence of a penalty for non-compliance he is not sure how the 60 days clause will work out. “What if schools violate the 60 days time line. How will you ensure compliance still remains a question mark”, he says. The guidelines also prohibit the number of ways in which discrimination against EWS students happens. Thus schools, for instance, cannot ‘label such students as reserved category in class’, or ‘treat them separately in utilising sports and other facilities’. Also they cannot ‘announce verbally in the class the names of the community or castes or tribes of students’. These details are the very ways in which EWS students and parents have experienced discrimination since the EWS provision has been in function. However, “If these are the guidelines, they should have at least tried to specify how each violation has to be dealt with. For instance, if there is violence, you might need to file an FIR” says Bhatty. “My fear is schools will just abdicate responsibility. You need to do a lot more than this”, she adds.