E-Paper
States not supporting school education of Covid-affected children: NCPCR to SC
The report of the child rights body came pursuant to an order of the top court on January 6 directing the commission to verify the ground situation in states/UTs regarding implementation of its earlier orders
Children who lost either or both parents during the Covid pandemic are not getting the benefits of free education under the Right to Education Act (RTE) or state support in continuing their private school education till Class 12, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) informed the Supreme Court last week seeking directions to states and union territories to devise ways to ensure the education of such children studying in private schools does not get disrupted.
The report of the child rights body came pursuant to an order of the top court on January 6 directing the commission to verify the ground situation in states/UTs regarding implementation of its earlier orders mandating state/UT governments to confer with private school managements and ensure continuation of education of children affected during Covid, estimated to be nearly 0.19 million.
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The NCPCR conducted physical visits to six states/UTs as a sample survey that included Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Jharkhand, and Kerala.
The NCPCR interacted with students and their parent/guardian and found that many students were not getting any financial help from states to pursue their education in private schools.
It also found that the benefit of free, compulsory education for students belonging to weak, disadvantaged sections of society up to Class VIII, as provided under Section 12 of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 was also not being complied with.
In its affidavit filed through advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi, the NCPCR said, “During interaction of NCPCR teams with children and their parents/guardians, many children were not provided sponsorship due to budgetary allocation made by state and many children who have lost either parent (during Covid) were not provided benefit under RTE.”
The commission suggested that if a child who has lost either or both parents or the earning member of the family and is studying in a private school, “the expenditure of elementary education (till Class VIII) of such children in the same school may be borne by the appropriate government under Section 12(1)c of the RTE Act.”
The Commission sent a questionnaire to states/UTs and found that Kerala, Nagaland, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, Sikkim, Tripura, Mizoram, and Puducherry have yet not implemented the provisions of Section 12(1)c of RTE.
Further, the commission recommended that for children who are studying in private schools above elementary level (beyond Class VIII), the concerned state/UT government should devise a policy for reimbursing the expenditure on education of these children.
The states can also provide sponsorship of the child’s education under Section 45 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the affidavit added.
A bench of justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol heard the matter on February 28 and agreed to examine the suggestions on March 13, the next date of hearing.
The commission also set up a portal - “Tracking portal for Out of School Children” last year for real-time update of data by states/UTs on children who discontinued school education during Covid pandemic by remaining absent for a period of 30 days or more. So far, NCPCR has received information of over 55,000 students from 11 states.
The physical verification of the sample states undertaken by NCPCR further revealed that benefits under various central and state schools such as Mission Vatsalya for children affected due to Covid and widow pension have not reached the affected families/children.
In an order passed in August 2021, the top court directed that children who lost either parent or both parents after March 2020 should not suffer disruption in their education.
“The state governments shall confer with private schools to waive the fee of the distressed children for the current academic year. In case the private institutions are unwilling to effectuate such waiver, the state governments shall shoulder the burden of the fee,” the order said.
The court was assisted by advocate Gaurav Agarwal as amicus curiae (friend of the Court) who suggested that in addition to NCPCR’s suggestions, the court may consider directing all states to ensure continuation of education of Covid-affected children in private schools through additional financial assistance, free-ship from school, linkage with any existing government scheme or by involving non-government organisations.
