City applauds education bill

MUMBAI: Three years ago, an ambitious Bill to provide free and compulsory education to all children between six and 14 years was drafted. However, a year later, the Bill was scrapped. The reason? The government found it too expensive, and didn't want to spend so much on education. The Bill was resurrected after a mid-census correction showed that there were six million children less than what was originally accounted for, thus halving the cost of the Bill from Rs 3,21,000 crore to Rs 1,51,000 crore.
After a torturous route, the Bill finally made it to the Rajya Sabha this week.However, it still awaits clearance.
Both, parents and educationists, from across the country are waiting with bated breath for the Bill to be cleared. Some of the radical new clauses include doing away with failure. In other words, no child can be detained from Classes I to VIII.
And that's not all. While the Bill calls for continuous and comprehensive evaluation of a child, it's up to schools to decide whether or not they want to hold exams.
But there is one rule that has ruffled a few feathers: The Bill calls for 25% reservations for economically disadvantaged children in private schools, an idea that has met with stiff opposition from the private school lobby.
There are also a few questions that need to be addressed. The new system, if passed in parliament, will only be valid up to Std VIII. What happens to the system or the children in the important final two years?
However, barring a few exceptions, most of the proposed changes have been welcomed by parents, teachers, educationists and of course, students. And most are looking forward to a new era of education--one, they believe, will empower both, children and teachers.