RIGHT TO EDUCATION BILL 2009- A BILL OF WRONG FOR RIGHT
To
Honble.Minister of MHRD,
Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Subject: Objections and suggestions regarding Right to Education
Bill 2009 in context of Himachal Pradesh.
Honble. Sir,
With regards, I want to suggest the government to make a strict review of Right to Education Bill/Act 2009 causing many problems to the state government as well as to the teachers serving in Himachal Pradesh. As this act is appearing merely an endeavor to enhance the enrolment, retention and providing right of elementary education to all children, it has many flaws behind this beautiful curtain of right.I want to make you aware of the following objectionable points highlighted by me:
1. School Management Committees
(1) A School Management Committee (SMC) shall be constituted for every State school and aided school, with such representation of parents, teachers, the community and representatives of the local authority, as may be prescribed.
(2) Composition of the School Management Committee shall be so prescribed that:
i) At least three-fourths of its members are parents/guardians of children studying in the school, with proportionate representation among them of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes;
ii) The remaining members are drawn from other stakeholder sections of the community including representatives of the local authority, teachers, and persons/bodies working for education.
Accountability of Teachers Employed in State Schools and Fully-aided
Schools
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, rules, regulation or
contract for the time being in force, the following provisions shall apply to every teacher employed in State schools and fully-aided schools: -
i) Power to grant leave to teachers shall vest in the Head Teacher/
School Management Committee (SMC) to such extent and subject to such restrictions as regards nature and duration of leave, and in such manner as may be prescribed;
ii) The SMC, Panchayat at the village level, or a municipal body, as
the case may be, shall, where it is not itself the Appointing Authority for teachers serving in school(s) falling within its jurisdiction, furnish periodic assessment reports regarding performance of duties stipulated in Section 26 by such teachers, to the concerned Appointing Authority, in such manner as may be prescribed;
(3) Physical assets of every State school, including its building, appurtenant land and fixtures, and all equipment and furniture, etc., shall be transferred by the concerned Government/local authority to the SMC within three months of its constitution under this Act, subject to such terms, conditions and restrictions, and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(4) The SMC shall perform the following functions, namely:
(i) monitor and oversee the working of the school, and plan and facilitate its development;
(ii) manage the assets of the school;
(iii) ensure that teachers of the school diligently perform the duties prescribed for them under Section 26;
(iv) disburse salary to teachers from the grants received for the purpose from the appropriate government/local authority, and to deduct payment of salary for the period of unauthorised absence, if any, in such manner as decided by the SMC;
(v) utilise other grants received from the appropriate government, local authority or any other source for the upkeep and development of the school, in accordance with the terms of such grant and the rules made in that behalf; and,
iii) (vi) such other functions as may be prescribed by or under this
Act.
(5) All moneys received by a School Management Committee for the discharge of its functions under this Act, shall be kept in a separate account, and shall be utilised in such manner as may be prescribed.
(6) Accounts of money received and spent by the SMC shall be maintained and audited in such manner as may be prescribed.
23. Teachers of State Schools to be a School-based Cadre
(1) After the commencement of this Act, teachers in State schools, except in State schools of specified categories, shall be appointed for a specific school by such local authority or SMC as may be notified by the appropriate government, and shall not be transferred therefrom;
(2) Recruitment of teachers shall be carried out in accordance with transparent, merit-based criteria, and information thereof shall be made available in the public domain.
(3) All teachers already serving at the commencement of this Act, in State schools, except in State schools of specified categories, shall be permanently assigned to a specific State school in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, within a period not exceeding two years
from the commencement of this Act, and shall then not be transferred
from the school so assigned.
My objections:
1. Why should teachers take leave from SMC pradhans than Headmaster/HT/CHT when they are under Department of Education than SMC?
2.Like P.T.A. teachers, there will be the recruitments under SMC, will you please stop it? Why there are service selection boards? SMC pradhans are more powerful than CM as they can appoint anyone in disguise ? What a provision ? Let the education department survive by ending this clause.
3.There is no provision to gurantee that SMC will be a non-political and indiscriminate body which will not target the teachers with personal jealousy and foe.
4. If you make school as cadre then sub-cadre should be home. If we stop the transfers of teachers, they will become motionless rocks or water of a pond. The provision is not realistic as working constantly on one station causes many good or bad public relations affecting the role of teachers as it may be disliked by SMC.
4. If Department of Education receives the funds to disburse salaries of teachers, why SMC will disburse it ? Is it PTA fund? Will you please tell me why DDO power of disbursement of salaries is to be allotted to such persons than BEEO/DDEO/HoD ?
5. Who has recruited us ? We have not been appointed by SMCs. Why we should be under their control in every aspect as monitoring, taking leave, duration of leave, disbursing salary to the teachers, ACR filling, increment fixation etc. on their recommendation who even don’t know how to sign a document, cannot read orders and log book, who are not aware of education code and conduct rules, who have got no more training in finance administration and most objectionable, their own qualification level is also no fix under the bill. So who can serve under such local guys ?
6. SMC can take disciplinary action against teachers but where are the rules which ensure that SMC is in discipline?
Read the provision of the act given beUnless the State legislature has by law otherwise provided, power
to impose minor punishment on a teacher in a State School, who was appointed by an authority higher than, or different from the authority mentioned in column 3 of the table below, shall vest in the Local Authority specified in column 3, and having jurisdiction over the rural/urban/metropolitan area in which the school is situated:-
A For teachers in rural areas Panchayat of the
intermediate or village level or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
B For teachers in
government schools in urban areas
C For teachers in
government schools in metropolitan areas The municipality or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
Such authority or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
(2) When an SMC considers a matter in exercise of its powers under sub-
clause (iii) of sub-section (1), no teacher other than the Head Teacher, who is a member of the SMC, shall participate in its proceedings, and the Head Teacher shall also not do so when the SMC is considering a matter concerning him.
28. Redressal of Teachers’ Grievances
It shall be the duty of the SMC/Local Authority to redress teachers’ grievances to the extent they fall within its purview, and to support the teacher in obtaining redressal of such grievances as do not fall within its purview.
Why I am writing to you to amend these clauses? Please read the provision below:
Chapter VII MISCELLANEOUS
46. Redressal of Grievances Regarding Non-Implementation of School-related
Provisions of This Act
(1) Anyone who has a grievance that provisions of Sections 12, 14-18, 20, 21, 26, 29, 31, 48 and the Schedule of this Act, to the extent that they relate to establishment, provisioning, management of schools and conduct of activities therein, are not being complied with, may submit a written representation in that behalf to, as the case may be, the Local Authority or the School Management Committee concerned, which shall take appropriate action on it and inform the applicant within a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of receipt of the representation.
(2) If the person preferring the representation under sub-section (1) above is not satisfied with the action taken thereon by the Local Authority or SMC as the case may be, he may submit a representation in that behalf to such other authority as may be prescribed, which shall take appropriate action thereon and inform the applicant within a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of receipt of the representation.
47. State-Level Regulatory Authority
(1) The Appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a State-level Regulatory Authority for inquiring into grievances which remain unredressed even after taking recourse to the remedies provided in Section 46. The composition of the Authority shall be such as the Appropriate Government may notify in its official Gazette.
(2) On receipt of a representation under sub-section (1), the Regulatory Authority may either itself inquire into the matter, or may refer it for inquiry to such officer of the Appropriate Government or concerned local authority as may be prescribed.
(3) For the purposes of the inquiry referred to in sub-section (2), the Regulatory Authority or, as the case may be, the officer to whom it refers the matter for inquiry, shall have the powers to record oral evidence of such persons, inspect such premises, and examine such documents, as it thinks fit, in order to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder have been complied with.
(4) Every school and other institution imparting elementary education, and every employer shall afford the Authority/officer referred to in sub-section (3), all reasonable facilities for entering into and inspecting premises, examining documents and recording statements of persons, connected with the subject matter of the inquiry.
Now please read the following provisions as these are also very objectionable in context of Himachal Pradesh. Please amend them as it is necessary :
Suggestions: 1. Create HT post on the 60 students in Primary Schools.
2. Create CHT post on 90 students in Primary schools.
3. Please revise the syllabus and curriculum of primary level.
4. Student teacher ratio must not be made an obstacle in new appointments of teachers.
5. Non teaching assignments must not be given to teachers as there is the preparation of sending teachers on census 2011 duties etc.
6. If holidays are to be reduced, please make sure that targeted students are able to come instead of the religion or custom based days cut downed from list of holidays.
7. Every primary teacher should be a trained JBT by 2011. It is must to be done. Please initiate training of Primary assistant teachers in HP as act says about all teachers.In future, do not recruit any untrained teachers and stop recruitment of JBTs and fill the vacant posts from the long list of gardaute B Ed. unemployed persons who have waited many years for jobs and if they continued waiting for jobs, they will not get appointment before their retirement.
8. Please do not make JBT as state cadre as act says to make school as cadre, I suggest that district cadre is good for JBTs as it has been successful experiment for last three decades. We must not experiment merely for experiment.
Please see the provisions of the act in this regard as below:
SCHEDULE
(See Section 18)
Norms and Standards for a School
S.No. Item Norm
1. Curriculum As prescribed by the Competent Academic Authority
2 Number of teachers:
(a) Primary School (Classes 1-5) Enrolment No. of teachers
Up to 60 2
61 - 90 3
91 - 120 4
121 – 200 5
>150 5+ 1Head Teacher
>200 Pupil Teacher Ratio (excluding
Head Teacher) not to exceed 40
(b) Upper Primary School (Classes 6-8) • At least one teacher per class such that there is as far as possible at least one teacher each for
1. Science and Maths
2. Social studies
3. Languages
• At least one teacher for every 35 children
• As soon as enrolment crosses 100:
i. A full time head teacher
ii. At least part time instructors for:
• Art Education
• Health and Physical Education
• Work Education
3. Qualifications of teachers As per Section 25 of the Act.
4. Building All-weather building consisting of:
i At least one classroom for every
teacher
ii An office-cum-store cum-head
teacher’s room in every school.
iii Toilets (separate for boys and girls)
iv Drinking Water facilities
v Kitchen (wherever mid day meal is
cooked in the school)
vi Barrier-free access
5. Specifications of a classroom As may be prescribed
6. Minimum number of
working days/instructional hours in an academic year i 200 working days for Primary schools
ii 220 working days for Upper Primary
schools
iii 800/1000 Instructional hours per
academic year for primary/upper primary schools
7. Minimum number of working hours per week for the teacher 45 (Teaching plus preparation hours)
8. Teaching learning equipment As may be prescribed
9. Library As may be prescribed
10. Play material, games and sports equipment As may be prescribed
11* Boundary wall or fencing
12* Playground/space (with e.g. slides, swings, see- saw, gymnastic bars, sand pit etc.)
B. Desirable
1. Facility for pre-school education in accordance with Section 7.
2. Electrification, telephone and at least one personal computer.
* Exemptions may be permitted in appropriate cases
Please amend the rules as it is necessary. Please take opinion of teachers too.
Thanking with regards,
Date: 05-03-2010 Yours sincerely,
Vijay Kumar Heer, State President
Himachal Shikshak Kranti Manch , HP
Vill Chakmoh PO Nain, Tehsil Barsar,
Distt. Hamirpur ( HP) 176039
E –mail: heervj@gmail.com
Honble.Minister of MHRD,
Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Subject: Objections and suggestions regarding Right to Education
Bill 2009 in context of Himachal Pradesh.
Honble. Sir,
With regards, I want to suggest the government to make a strict review of Right to Education Bill/Act 2009 causing many problems to the state government as well as to the teachers serving in Himachal Pradesh. As this act is appearing merely an endeavor to enhance the enrolment, retention and providing right of elementary education to all children, it has many flaws behind this beautiful curtain of right.I want to make you aware of the following objectionable points highlighted by me:
1. School Management Committees
(1) A School Management Committee (SMC) shall be constituted for every State school and aided school, with such representation of parents, teachers, the community and representatives of the local authority, as may be prescribed.
(2) Composition of the School Management Committee shall be so prescribed that:
i) At least three-fourths of its members are parents/guardians of children studying in the school, with proportionate representation among them of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes;
ii) The remaining members are drawn from other stakeholder sections of the community including representatives of the local authority, teachers, and persons/bodies working for education.
Accountability of Teachers Employed in State Schools and Fully-aided
Schools
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, rules, regulation or
contract for the time being in force, the following provisions shall apply to every teacher employed in State schools and fully-aided schools: -
i) Power to grant leave to teachers shall vest in the Head Teacher/
School Management Committee (SMC) to such extent and subject to such restrictions as regards nature and duration of leave, and in such manner as may be prescribed;
ii) The SMC, Panchayat at the village level, or a municipal body, as
the case may be, shall, where it is not itself the Appointing Authority for teachers serving in school(s) falling within its jurisdiction, furnish periodic assessment reports regarding performance of duties stipulated in Section 26 by such teachers, to the concerned Appointing Authority, in such manner as may be prescribed;
(3) Physical assets of every State school, including its building, appurtenant land and fixtures, and all equipment and furniture, etc., shall be transferred by the concerned Government/local authority to the SMC within three months of its constitution under this Act, subject to such terms, conditions and restrictions, and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(4) The SMC shall perform the following functions, namely:
(i) monitor and oversee the working of the school, and plan and facilitate its development;
(ii) manage the assets of the school;
(iii) ensure that teachers of the school diligently perform the duties prescribed for them under Section 26;
(iv) disburse salary to teachers from the grants received for the purpose from the appropriate government/local authority, and to deduct payment of salary for the period of unauthorised absence, if any, in such manner as decided by the SMC;
(v) utilise other grants received from the appropriate government, local authority or any other source for the upkeep and development of the school, in accordance with the terms of such grant and the rules made in that behalf; and,
iii) (vi) such other functions as may be prescribed by or under this
Act.
(5) All moneys received by a School Management Committee for the discharge of its functions under this Act, shall be kept in a separate account, and shall be utilised in such manner as may be prescribed.
(6) Accounts of money received and spent by the SMC shall be maintained and audited in such manner as may be prescribed.
23. Teachers of State Schools to be a School-based Cadre
(1) After the commencement of this Act, teachers in State schools, except in State schools of specified categories, shall be appointed for a specific school by such local authority or SMC as may be notified by the appropriate government, and shall not be transferred therefrom;
(2) Recruitment of teachers shall be carried out in accordance with transparent, merit-based criteria, and information thereof shall be made available in the public domain.
(3) All teachers already serving at the commencement of this Act, in State schools, except in State schools of specified categories, shall be permanently assigned to a specific State school in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, within a period not exceeding two years
from the commencement of this Act, and shall then not be transferred
from the school so assigned.
My objections:
1. Why should teachers take leave from SMC pradhans than Headmaster/HT/CHT when they are under Department of Education than SMC?
2.Like P.T.A. teachers, there will be the recruitments under SMC, will you please stop it? Why there are service selection boards? SMC pradhans are more powerful than CM as they can appoint anyone in disguise ? What a provision ? Let the education department survive by ending this clause.
3.There is no provision to gurantee that SMC will be a non-political and indiscriminate body which will not target the teachers with personal jealousy and foe.
4. If you make school as cadre then sub-cadre should be home. If we stop the transfers of teachers, they will become motionless rocks or water of a pond. The provision is not realistic as working constantly on one station causes many good or bad public relations affecting the role of teachers as it may be disliked by SMC.
4. If Department of Education receives the funds to disburse salaries of teachers, why SMC will disburse it ? Is it PTA fund? Will you please tell me why DDO power of disbursement of salaries is to be allotted to such persons than BEEO/DDEO/HoD ?
5. Who has recruited us ? We have not been appointed by SMCs. Why we should be under their control in every aspect as monitoring, taking leave, duration of leave, disbursing salary to the teachers, ACR filling, increment fixation etc. on their recommendation who even don’t know how to sign a document, cannot read orders and log book, who are not aware of education code and conduct rules, who have got no more training in finance administration and most objectionable, their own qualification level is also no fix under the bill. So who can serve under such local guys ?
6. SMC can take disciplinary action against teachers but where are the rules which ensure that SMC is in discipline?
Read the provision of the act given beUnless the State legislature has by law otherwise provided, power
to impose minor punishment on a teacher in a State School, who was appointed by an authority higher than, or different from the authority mentioned in column 3 of the table below, shall vest in the Local Authority specified in column 3, and having jurisdiction over the rural/urban/metropolitan area in which the school is situated:-
A For teachers in rural areas Panchayat of the
intermediate or village level or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
B For teachers in
government schools in urban areas
C For teachers in
government schools in metropolitan areas The municipality or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
Such authority or SMC, as the appropriate govt. may notify
(2) When an SMC considers a matter in exercise of its powers under sub-
clause (iii) of sub-section (1), no teacher other than the Head Teacher, who is a member of the SMC, shall participate in its proceedings, and the Head Teacher shall also not do so when the SMC is considering a matter concerning him.
28. Redressal of Teachers’ Grievances
It shall be the duty of the SMC/Local Authority to redress teachers’ grievances to the extent they fall within its purview, and to support the teacher in obtaining redressal of such grievances as do not fall within its purview.
Why I am writing to you to amend these clauses? Please read the provision below:
Chapter VII MISCELLANEOUS
46. Redressal of Grievances Regarding Non-Implementation of School-related
Provisions of This Act
(1) Anyone who has a grievance that provisions of Sections 12, 14-18, 20, 21, 26, 29, 31, 48 and the Schedule of this Act, to the extent that they relate to establishment, provisioning, management of schools and conduct of activities therein, are not being complied with, may submit a written representation in that behalf to, as the case may be, the Local Authority or the School Management Committee concerned, which shall take appropriate action on it and inform the applicant within a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of receipt of the representation.
(2) If the person preferring the representation under sub-section (1) above is not satisfied with the action taken thereon by the Local Authority or SMC as the case may be, he may submit a representation in that behalf to such other authority as may be prescribed, which shall take appropriate action thereon and inform the applicant within a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of receipt of the representation.
47. State-Level Regulatory Authority
(1) The Appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a State-level Regulatory Authority for inquiring into grievances which remain unredressed even after taking recourse to the remedies provided in Section 46. The composition of the Authority shall be such as the Appropriate Government may notify in its official Gazette.
(2) On receipt of a representation under sub-section (1), the Regulatory Authority may either itself inquire into the matter, or may refer it for inquiry to such officer of the Appropriate Government or concerned local authority as may be prescribed.
(3) For the purposes of the inquiry referred to in sub-section (2), the Regulatory Authority or, as the case may be, the officer to whom it refers the matter for inquiry, shall have the powers to record oral evidence of such persons, inspect such premises, and examine such documents, as it thinks fit, in order to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder have been complied with.
(4) Every school and other institution imparting elementary education, and every employer shall afford the Authority/officer referred to in sub-section (3), all reasonable facilities for entering into and inspecting premises, examining documents and recording statements of persons, connected with the subject matter of the inquiry.
Now please read the following provisions as these are also very objectionable in context of Himachal Pradesh. Please amend them as it is necessary :
Suggestions: 1. Create HT post on the 60 students in Primary Schools.
2. Create CHT post on 90 students in Primary schools.
3. Please revise the syllabus and curriculum of primary level.
4. Student teacher ratio must not be made an obstacle in new appointments of teachers.
5. Non teaching assignments must not be given to teachers as there is the preparation of sending teachers on census 2011 duties etc.
6. If holidays are to be reduced, please make sure that targeted students are able to come instead of the religion or custom based days cut downed from list of holidays.
7. Every primary teacher should be a trained JBT by 2011. It is must to be done. Please initiate training of Primary assistant teachers in HP as act says about all teachers.In future, do not recruit any untrained teachers and stop recruitment of JBTs and fill the vacant posts from the long list of gardaute B Ed. unemployed persons who have waited many years for jobs and if they continued waiting for jobs, they will not get appointment before their retirement.
8. Please do not make JBT as state cadre as act says to make school as cadre, I suggest that district cadre is good for JBTs as it has been successful experiment for last three decades. We must not experiment merely for experiment.
Please see the provisions of the act in this regard as below:
SCHEDULE
(See Section 18)
Norms and Standards for a School
S.No. Item Norm
1. Curriculum As prescribed by the Competent Academic Authority
2 Number of teachers:
(a) Primary School (Classes 1-5) Enrolment No. of teachers
Up to 60 2
61 - 90 3
91 - 120 4
121 – 200 5
>150 5+ 1Head Teacher
>200 Pupil Teacher Ratio (excluding
Head Teacher) not to exceed 40
(b) Upper Primary School (Classes 6-8) • At least one teacher per class such that there is as far as possible at least one teacher each for
1. Science and Maths
2. Social studies
3. Languages
• At least one teacher for every 35 children
• As soon as enrolment crosses 100:
i. A full time head teacher
ii. At least part time instructors for:
• Art Education
• Health and Physical Education
• Work Education
3. Qualifications of teachers As per Section 25 of the Act.
4. Building All-weather building consisting of:
i At least one classroom for every
teacher
ii An office-cum-store cum-head
teacher’s room in every school.
iii Toilets (separate for boys and girls)
iv Drinking Water facilities
v Kitchen (wherever mid day meal is
cooked in the school)
vi Barrier-free access
5. Specifications of a classroom As may be prescribed
6. Minimum number of
working days/instructional hours in an academic year i 200 working days for Primary schools
ii 220 working days for Upper Primary
schools
iii 800/1000 Instructional hours per
academic year for primary/upper primary schools
7. Minimum number of working hours per week for the teacher 45 (Teaching plus preparation hours)
8. Teaching learning equipment As may be prescribed
9. Library As may be prescribed
10. Play material, games and sports equipment As may be prescribed
11* Boundary wall or fencing
12* Playground/space (with e.g. slides, swings, see- saw, gymnastic bars, sand pit etc.)
B. Desirable
1. Facility for pre-school education in accordance with Section 7.
2. Electrification, telephone and at least one personal computer.
* Exemptions may be permitted in appropriate cases
Please amend the rules as it is necessary. Please take opinion of teachers too.
Thanking with regards,
Date: 05-03-2010 Yours sincerely,
Vijay Kumar Heer, State President
Himachal Shikshak Kranti Manch , HP
Vill Chakmoh PO Nain, Tehsil Barsar,
Distt. Hamirpur ( HP) 176039
E –mail: heervj@gmail.com
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