Now Right To Education Bills

New Delhi, Dec 18 (UNI) The Knowledge Commission has suggested enacting legislation at the national level requiring the States to enact Right to Education Bills within a specified time period, Parliament was told today.

The primary financial responsibility in the Commission's view ought to rest with the Central government, Minister of State for Human Resource Development M A A Fatmi said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The Commission held that with the enactment of the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, the legislation envisaged under Article 21A which makes education a Fundamental Right for 6-14-year-olds, must be enforced by the Central government, he said.

The Commission recognised possible concerns about federalism since school education is dominantly the responsibility of State governments, Mr Fatmi said.

He said the Commission also suggested setting standards to be followed by schools, specification for teachers, justiciability of the Right to Education and redressal mechanism and universal schooling.

In pursuance of Article 21A of the Constitution, a draft Model Right to Education Bill has been formulated and circulated as framework to the States and Union Territories for comment, Mr Fatmi said.

He said to motivate State Governments to adopt the Model Right to Education Bill, 2006, it is proposed that the scale of funding under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan be made contingent upon enactment of appropriate State Acts on free and compulsory education or suitable adaptation of existing Acts.

UNI MJ NK ND1838