On January 27, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking enforcement of the Right to Education (RTE) Act for notified minorities, a bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna asserted that when it comes to a matter like the right to education, emphasis should not be given wholly to religious minorities.

Hearing the PIL filed in the case of Mohammad Imran Ahmed and others vs. the central government and others, according to LiveLaw, the bench also observed orally that religion is important when it is relevant and vital to the subject matter, only when it is legally required. Otherwise, we are secular nation, and everything we do must reflect that spirit. Both, citizens as well as the state.

The petition sought enforcement of Section 12(1) c of the RTE Act, underlining the problem of the discontinuation of the pre-matric scholarship initiative for minorities. The clause requires non-minority private unaided schools to reserve at least 25% of their entry-level seats for students from the weaker sections of society.

During the hearing, the Court asked the petitioner as to why he had taken up the cause of minority communities exclusively. “The difficulty is that they have provided a list of 18 states that have admitted children under Section 12 (1) c. There are 29 of us. That means it isn’t fully implemented,” the advocate representing the petitioner had outlined. To this, the Bench had inquired as to what exactly the advocate meant by the term “weaker sections”. The Bench had further asked for a definition providing the same to substantiate the exclusion of the majority community. “Are you only supporting minorities by ignoring the majority? Why have you given special emphasis solely to minorities?” the bench asked, as stated by the Bar and Bench.

“Your plea is for getting the benefit for the minority community. We have no problem with that”, the Bench had observed, as provided by the LiveLaw. The bench then added that the plea filed refers to Muslims and Christians, which gets limitedto the minority community alone. Members of all communities belonging to the weaker sections should get the benefit, as was stated by the bench.

The petitioners argued that because of the financial problems faced by the six notified minority communities, as well as the educational disadvantages they confront, the respondents should be obligated to apply the RTE Act. The advocate believed that non-implementation would have a greater impact on children from minority backgrounds. The bench observed that the prayers addressed religious minorities in all states. “The benefit will flow down to religious minorities if the section is adopted,” the advocate clarified. Advocate Ayush Negi, appearing for the petitioners, also added that the said section 12(1)(c) applies to all and the petition is only seeking its enforcement. Justice Nagarathna remarked that the same was not reflected in the plea.

The Advocate representing the petitioners then went on to say that minorities have also benefited from the Act’s provisions and thus, it should not be interpreted religiously. “I’ll revise the application and submit it”, he then stated. At this point, the court allowed the petitioners to withdraw their plea and resubmit with amended pleadings.

Background of the discontinuation of Pre-Metric Scholarship

In November 2022, the government stated that since RTE includes compulsory education up to Class 8th for all students, they will be restricting its pre-matric scholarship scheme for backward and minority communities to students in Class 9 and Class 10. Previously, the pre-matric scholarship used to cover education for Class 1 to 8students,belonging to SC, ST, OBC and minority communities.

The government justified its decision in a notification, stating that the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 requires the government to provide free and compulsory primary education (Classes 1–8) to all children.

“As a result, only students in Classes 9 and 10 are eligible for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme. Similarly, coverage under the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ pre-matric scholarship scheme will be limited to Classes 9 and 10 beginning in 2022-23” The notice had stated.

The Institute Nodal Officer (INO)/District Nodal Officer (DNO)/State Nodal Officer (SNO) had been mandated to assess applications solely for Classes 9 and 10 under the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme. The decision had drawn a sharp reaction from political parties and others.

Related:

Union scraps Maulana Azad Scholarships for Research Scholars from Minority Communities

Centre excludes overseas humanities and social science courses from SC/ST scholarship

Lackluster Budget from Dalit-Adivasi perspective

The post SC: India is a secular country; PIL for RTE Act implementation should benefit members of all weaker sections appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ahmedabad: There’s a pile of debris on the site of a primary school building in the Musllim-dominated Rakhiyal area of Ahmedabad, which was brought down in November 2020. As a testimony to its existence, a slide where children would have played, stands on one corner of the ground.

“Who will believe there was a school in this place earlier? All that is left is a slide in the extreme corner of the ground where, in 2020, there used to be a four-storeyed school. Hundreds of students lost access to education once the school was brought down,” says Rahil, a government school teacher in a Hindi-medium school of Rakhiyal. He happened to be in demolished school to meet the principal just two days before it was to be vacated.

A bike ride with a local teacher in Ahmedabad’s Rakhiyal unfolded several untold stories of primary schools that now either lie vacant because the government appointed engineer happened to find the condition of the building not fit due to old infrastructure, or the school had less than the number of required students, as per rules to run it. However, local teachers in Rakhiyal deny both these reasons and have a different story to narrate.

Right beside the Kalandari Masjid of Rakhiyal lies a two-storey building with a school on the first floor and shops on the ground floor. The school was shut down in November 2020 after the engineer said it needed renovation.

“The shops are in the same building. Look at the irony, it was inappropriate for education, but perfectly fit to run businesses?” Rahil pointed out to Newsclick.

Pandemic changed lives of hundreds of kids

As property rates in the Rakhiyal area are low, many migrant workers send their kids to these corporation schools. But, with the pandemic came troubles for them and their children. Workers had to leave the town and head back home. Two years later, as the schools started in June this year, very few workers had returned, while several others eventually returned within a month.

After a halt of  over2 years, students are now finally showing up at school

Romila, who has been teaching in an Urdu-medium for the past 17 years, said she had been trying to encourage children from her community to study so that they end up in a better place and improve the economic conditions of their families. “The children who come to us are not the usual ones. We have to keep pushing them as well as their parents,” she told NewsClick. Romila also made some shocking revelations indicating “intentional” deprivation of already economically weak students from a basic right — the Right to Education.

A student’s name can be cancelled from school but only after a lengthy process. For the first two days, if the child does not show up at school, a neighbouring student is asked to check up on him/her and let the administration know. If that does not work and the student still does not show up for a week, the class teacher visits his/her house to bring them back.

Only after a month of absence, a committee involving the local supervisor, teachers of the school, and a government supervisor collectively decide on striking off the student’s name from the school.

“None of these required procedures were followed after the reopening of schools after a gap of two years (during the pandemic). The supervisor in charge showed up a month after the school reopened, and as soon as I would try to explain to them about a particular child and the nature of his/her absence, they would ask me to strike the name off,” she said.

Romila claimed that names of 300 students were cancelled out this way, some of whose parents said over phone that they were labourers and would show up only once they had a job surety.

As per a recent news report, as many as 62 primary schools in the last 25 years have been shut down in Ahmedabad. At least 23 have been either shut down or merged with another, in the last two years alone.

The primary school in Rakhiyal does not much seating capacity, and the roof is not a pucca one.

Several teachers and principals of primary schools in the Muslim settlement alleged that this was not the only rule that was flouted by government representatives. There is another law on the merger of schools. As per the rules, schools can be merged only if the number of students in each school is less than one hundred. However, the teaching staff of different schools alleged that schools with over 200-300 students were also shut down. Moreover, the ones under renovation for the past two years had yet not been started.

Spike in Dropout Rates

In Juhapura, the largest slum, with a population of two and a half to three lakh, there is only one senior secondary government aided school. With little choice left between the daily bread and their children’s education in a private school, parents are often compelled to pull their children out of school.

Yushra, Saniya and Nazia, three girls who recently got back to studies after a 6 year long drop out.(left to right)

Yushra, Nazia, and Saniya are three girls in their 20s who are pursuing their 10th grade after dropping out for nearly six years. Yushra, in particular, the most academically bright among the three, said she wanted to study “with all her heart” to make a good career. Her father is in jail, and she works during the day with her mother, who sews clothes so that she can run the house and also continue to fund her daughter’s education. Yushra very recently got the opportunity to get back to studying after six years of dropping out of school with the help of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works with dropouts in the area.

The other two have also had similar encounters. The students who dropped out were not ready to speak under pressure from their families, but the ones getting back to school had tales of misery. “Once we drop out, it seems like there is no going back. It always starts with our parents being unable to bear the school fee for a private one, and later extends to a permanent dropout label as we are girls,” Nazia told NewsClick.

Hajra Aapa, popularly known as Munni Ben who works on getting the dropped out students back on track

“Had there been a government-aided school in the area, people would not have worried. There would not have been so many dropouts,” said Hajra, an old lady working for these students.

Access to Right to Education

The Reform Educational and Social Trust (REST) is a body that surveys Muslim settlements of the city and appeals to the government for educational reforms and creating opportunities for minority students where needed.

The barren land which once used to be a 4-storey school, now the only visible things are a slide and a JCB

In 2017, the organisation conducted a survey and found barren lands in several places that could be used to build schools. Additionally, the organisation even did a door-to-door survey and came out with a report that suggested that over 1,000 kids were awaiting education in those designated areas. However, all the efforts were in vain as their proposal was never considered by the authorities.

One of the biggest restrictions that the teachers feel, is the shutting down of primary Urdu medium schools. The minorities in the area see that as a direct attack on their religion and accuse the government of imposing such decisions on the community. REST also made a list of the Urdu schools that had either been shut down or merged in the city.

Rakhiyal Urdu Shala No-1,2, Rajpur Urdu Shala No 7,1, Gomtipur Urdu Shala No 2,1,3,4, Jamalpur Urdu Shala No 6 have allegedly been shut. A different list by REST shows that nearly 16 schools have allegedly been merged with other schools. 

“The mergers and shutdowns do not help. We do not have a problem with our students learning in English medium schools. But are we giving them the right teachers? The teachers who were teaching in Urdu medium, ones who have been trained to do so, are now teaching in English and Hindi mediums,” claimed a teacher from Rakhiyal.

Within this school now run 3 schools in different shifts, as the other two were merged with this.

The biggest allegation by some teachers is that the government is contradicting itself in doing so, as this is being done even as the government is saying that it is trying to apply the National Education Policy (NEP) in the entire country. “We feel upset when we hear the government saying in the NEP 2020 that for primary education, a child should be studying in their mother tongue, while this treatment is being meted out to Urdu medium schools here,” a teacher said on the condition of anonymity.

Limited Interaction with Hindu Community

Narrating an incident, Rahim, the principal, said he was speechless when “one fine day, a student came up to me and asked if the Muslim community had betrayed the country?”

On the first floor was a primary school, and the ground floor occupied by shops. Schools shut down while shops continue to run smoothly.

Geographical segregation in the city has resulted in a complete black hole in the interaction of two communities, the teachers say. Observing the children over the years, the teachers say that students only knew Diwali via pictures and crackers, Holi for its colours, and Janmashtami for Lord Krishna. The opaque wall dividing the two communities had restricted their mindsets, too.

One of the Hindu teachers also agreed to speak to NewsClick over the phone on the condition of anonymity. “I do sense the attack on the community here. There are schools in the Hindu settlements that have fewer students but are not being shut. We see our suggestions being taken, and theirs completely ignored. And most of all, there seems to be a targeted shutdown of Urdu medium schools,” the teacher told NewsClick.

The constant battle with the State for rights is not limited to students or teachers from one community. As per the government data, approximately 19,000 posts are vacant for positions of primary teachers across Gujarat. The teachers had been visiting ministers every week, until the government, right before the Assembly elections were announced, released a notification for 2,600 posts. However, the process for that will begin only after elections.

The writer is an independent journalist based out of Delhi. He is in Gujarat to report on the elections.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Gujarat Elections: RTE Rules Being Flouted in Muslim Areas, Allege Teachers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Asking girls to take off hijab invasion of privacy, attack on dignity”

India is country of many religions, with its plurality and diversity being essential to its fundamental constitutional mandate. In the new India being insidiously re-fashioned, however, displays of difference, or minority cultures has led to manufactured public outrage. And, while the Indian government uses its flagship “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” programme to ‘promote the education of daughters’ armed affiliate mobs have been seen to terrorise any girl, or woman who is “different.”

The Indian Supreme Court’s recent split-judgment on the Hijab Ban case has once again brought to light a problematic aspect of the ‘Hijab Row’, especially in the manner in which the issue was presented and argued –by petitioner organisations themselves –before the Karnataka High Court. Earlier this year, while during the hearing of the matter before the Karnataka High Court, one of the arguments that was majorly relied on by the petitioners was that wearing the hijab is an “essential religious practice” for Muslim women nationwide, and as such, it ought to be protected under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. This argument takes the issue down a precarious slope. Tragically, the high court, a constitutional forum, instead of elevating the issue beyond and above this argument, also dealt and discarded the rights of the young girls on that count alone.

Determining if an activity is or was “essentially religious” is where the phrase “essential religious practice” originated. If accepted as such, it would be given Article 25(1) protection, which grants every individual the freedom of conscience and right to practice, profess and propagate any religion. However, over time, the Supreme Court’s interpretations have metamorphosed into one where the Court considers (or can consider) whether any activity is actually “essential to a religion.”

From all the arguments that were presented before the Karnataka High Court in this case, it is unfortunate to see that the focus was majorly on making the issue or controversy about religion, while the issue of the right or access of every girl’s right to education was majorly ignored. The entire issue snowballed after some Muslim girls were being denied their right to education.

In December 2021, six Hijab-clad Muslim students belonging to Udupi’s Government Pre-University College for Girls were barred from attending classes. The institute’s purported reason: “no religious activity will be allowed on campus.” The girls were marked absent for at least three weeks before they protested the ban on 31 December, saying “though it is our constitutional right, they are still not allowing us to go in the class because we are wearing hijab.” A government resolution on the issue was quoted as the reason behind this action.

The students subsequently filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court, and also approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Meanwhile, triggered by the increasingly shrill posturing around the issue, some Hindu students (clearly supported by politically supremacist outfits) donned saffron scarves as a symbol of their opposition to the hijab, while the number of institutions that prohibited more and more Muslim girls continued to increase across Karnataka. On January 4, around 50 students of a state-run degree college in Chikmagalur District wore saffron-coloured scarves and raised slogans outside their educational institution. This led to both scarves and hijabs being banned from classrooms in the institute.

What is pertinent to stress however what is at stake is not just the issue of religion or culture. While the ban was applied to both saffron shawls and the hijab, it was the Muslim girls who had to sit in separate classes till they removed their hijab, not give their final exams, stand outside the gate of the educational institutes to protest for their rights or opt for getting transfer certificates. It was their education that suffered, along with their future opportunities. But this issue, of the right of every girl/woman to education, was on the back burner while the High Court decided whether wearing hijabs constitutes an essential religious practice and if the court can at all, intervene in such matters.

The Karnataka High Court held that the hijab (head scarf) worn by Muslim women does not constitute a necessary component of Islamic religious practices and is, therefore, not protected by the freedom of religion provided by Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. The Court further determined that the need of school uniforms did not infringe on either the right to privacy protected by Article 21 of the Constitution or the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution.

Additionally, the Court ruled that the ban on wearing a hijab in educational settings is just a fair limitation (of dress in a secular institution). The students cannot have a constitutional objection to this since it is legal. Thus, it affirmed the validity of the order issued by the Karnataka Government on February 5. In accordance with the Karnataka Education Act of 1983, the Karnataka government required the wearing of uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges in this order.

The Court also ruled that individual rights cannot be asserted in “qualified public places” like schools at the expense of overall decorum and discipline. This phrase is used a total of six times in the judgement. The court also notes that just as a detainee or a criminal does not always have absolute fundamental rights, a school is a qualified public space where the exercise of fundamental rights is regulated. The court makes this argument despite the fact that this word is not defined in the ruling. The court claims that in certain areas, “substantive rights transform into derivative rights.” On many levels, this proposition is itself a risky venture. A courtroom, a jail, a war room, and a defense camp are further instances of qualifying locations mentioned in the ruling.

This understanding goes against the essence of our democracy as rules made at such places can’t be seen as diluting rights under Article 14 (equality before law), Article 15 (no discrimination) and Article 19 (1) (freedom of expression). Fundamental rights were not intended to be protected by the Constitution in such a fragile fashion that they might be eliminated in the sake of “general discipline and decorum.”

The High Court Judgment further observes “…the Holy Quran does not mandate wearing of hijab or headgear for Muslim women…because of absence of prescription of penalty or penance for not wearing hijab….It is not that if the alleged practice of wearing hijab is not adhered to, those not wearing hijab become sinners, Islam loses its glory and it ceases to be a religion.” (Part IX, clause iii)

As this can be claimed about the majority of religious behaviour, the interpretation mentioned above would severely restrict the extent of religious freedom for all religions. The standard of evidence placed on the community in issue to demonstrate that donning the hijab is an essential practice has been set excessively high by the ruling, which has a severely constrained understanding of the freedom of conscience. The Court has overlooked the implications for Muslim women’s personal freedom in pursuing their education and leading the lives they choose while issuing its ruling and weighing the arguments. The ability to choose what and how to dress is something that needs to be granted to every women, religion no bar. Courts shouldn’t be used as a forum for religious changes in a democracy like India; “Individual fundamental liberties provide a far more sound and stable foundation for reform than secular Courts ruling on religious doctrine, which they are ill-equipped to do,” the judges had opined.

The judgment can be read here.

Thus, the approach taken by the Karnataka High Court in deciding this case was erroneous as courts even attempting adjudication over ERP has been criticised by academicians and scholar for a long time. Additionally, it has been contended that the essentiality/integrity concept tends to steer the Court into a realm outside of its purview and gives judges the authority to make decisions that are solely religious in nature. As a result, over the years, courts have taken differing positions on this issue. For instance, in Gandhi v. State of Bombay (1954), the Supreme Court stated that no outside authority has the authority to declare that these are the fundamental components of religion and that the secular authority of the state is not free to restrict or forbid them in any way. The Courts have occasionally used religious scriptures to assess essentiality, while in other instances they have relied on adherents’ actual behavior.

Some landmark judgments on religion and ERP:

• In 2018, in the case of Indian Young Lawyers Association and Others Vs. The State of Kerala and Others, the Supreme Court gave permission to menstruating women to enter the Sabarimala Temple. In this case,  in deciding the question as to whether a given religious practice is an integral part of the religion or not, the court observed that the test always would be whether it is regarded as such by the community following the religion or not.

• In 2016, in the case of Mohammed Zubair Corporal Vs Union Of India & Ors, the Muslim airman’s expulsion from the Indian Air Force for sporting a beard was affirmed by the Supreme Court. The Court effectively concluded that having a beard was not a requirement for practicing Islam.

• In 2004, the Supreme Court held that the Ananda Marga sect had no inherent right to perform the Tandava dance in public because it was not a basic aspect of their religion.

• The Supreme Court affirmed the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Act, 1970 in matter of Seshammal v. State of Tamil Nadu (1972). According to the Court, the Act’s main goal was to govern managerial and administrative practices. It was not intended to control or alter the customs observed in temples regarding rites and ceremonies.

• In Sardar Syedna Taher Saiffuddin Saheb v State of Bombay (1962), he Supreme Court’s five-judge panel confirmed the Head Priest of the Dawoodi Bohra Community’s claim to and authority over excommunication. It was also noted that information on what constitutes an important activity may be found in the religious books and tenets. The Legislature was not allowed, according to the Court, to eradicate a religion’s existence or identity.

In furtherance to this, the High Court judgment making this issue just about religion was not fair. They failed to take into account the fact that if the hijab was prohibited, it would severely restrict the Muslim women in question by infringing their fundamental rights and causing an irreparable loss to their educational opportunities. Even before this, when the interim order was enacted prohibiting the wearing of the hijab or saffron shawls as a means of displaying one’s religion, the trouble this would cause Muslim women who wear the hijab was disregarded.

Supreme Court on Hijab in the Classroom

The ruling of the Karnataka Government was affirmed by the High Court. The Supreme Court subsequently heard this matter. On October 13, 2022, the two judge bench delivered a split judgment.  In view of the “divergence in opinion”, the apex court directed the matter to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions.

The bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing the case. In dismissing the appeals, Justice Hemant Gupta stated that religious convictions cannot be brought to a secular institution run with state funds. Fundamental liberties are not untouchable and are open to legitimate limitations. He understood the goal of the Karnataka state government’s circular prohibiting headscarves to be upholding discipline and uniformity. He contended that uniformity fosters an atmosphere of equality where brotherly principles may be ingrained. He further emphasised on the value and absorbing qualities of uniforms. Additionally, he observed that students are free to carry their religious symbols outside of schools and that wearing a hijab is only prohibited during school hours. However, he added that at colleges, students should appear to be of a same mindset, i.e. look, feel and think alike.

On the other hand, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia overturned the challenged High Court decision, declaring that demanding Muslim girls’ to remove their hijabs at the school gates constituted a violation of their privacy, a harm against their dignity, and ultimately a denial of a secular education. He emphasised that wearing a hijab does not violate public order, morality, health, or decency, some of the justifications for limiting basic rights. He urged that society make fair accommodations in light of India’s numerous traditions. He believed that respect for others’ dignity and a commitment to brotherhood call for tolerance and a willingness to make fair accommodations for their personal views. Contrary to Justice Hemant Gupta, he believed that the pre-university institution was the ideal setting for teaching students the constitutional ideals of tolerance and accommodation while also exposing them to the diversity that exists in the nation.

In his ruling, Justice Dhulia focused on the problem of Muslim females being denied access to school. He stressed the violation of Muslim women’s fundamental rights as well as the need of the court to advance diversity rather than uniformity in our nation. While giving his decision, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia cited the decision given in the Bijoy Emanuel case, which had held that courts only need to test whether a practice is prevalent, was established and a bona fide one, he stated that wearing the hijab meets all three criteria.

Brief about the Bijoe Emanuel Case:

Facts: Following an allegation that they had refused to sing the national anthem, Bijoe Emmanuel, 15, a student in Class 10, and his sisters Bine and Bindu, 14, and 10, who were students of Classes 9 and 5, were suspended from school. The three kids belonged to the millenarian restorationist Christian sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has doctrines that are different from those of traditional Christianity. The dispute began in 1985, when the three were students at Kidangoor’s NSS High School in Kerala’s Kottayam district. The school, which was administered by the Hindu Nair Service Society, at the time had 11 Jehovah’s Witnesses as students. Five years had passed since Bijoe was first enrolled at the institution.

The family claimed that when others sung the national anthem, the kids stood as a sign of respect. That was not an issue for the administration of the school or other parents. Bijoe’s father had said that “some vested interests from outside the school dredged up the subject.” Politicians were interested in the situation after reading about it in a local newspaper. The UDF administration launched an investigation by a single-member committee after Congress (S) politician VC Kabeer brought up the matter in the Kerala Assembly.

The panel came to the conclusion that the kids were neither impolite nor had the school made any complaints about them. Nonetheless, the district educational officer stressed that, in order for the Emmanuels to continue attending school, they would have to follow the regulations. He required the kids to confirm in writing that they would join the rest of the class in singing the national song. The family, however, did not find this to be acceptable. The three kids and nine other members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses group were expelled from school on July 25, 1985, purportedly as a result of government pressure.

The Court: Emmanuel and his wife Lillikutty moved Kerala high court, where their plea was rejected by a single judge. They attempted a re-appeal but that too was turned down, this time by a division bench.  Emmanuel, who is not one to give up easily, filed a petition with the Supreme Court on behalf of his three young appellants, Bijoe, Binu, and Bindu.

The landmark Emmanuel v. State of Kerala, 1986 verdict, which is now known as the highest court’s decision, was delivered on August 11, 1986, and it sided with the students. Three children were granted protection as the Supreme Court’s bench of Justices O Chinnappa Reddy and M M Dutt ruled that making the kids sing “Jana Gana Mana” was against their basic religious freedom.

“We may at once say that there is no provisions of law which obliges anyone to sing the National Anthem nor do we think that it is disrespectful to the National Anthem if a person who stands up respectfully when the National Anthem is sung does not join the singing,” the SC court said in Para 2 of the judgment.

“Proper respect is shown to the National Anthem by standing up when the National Anthem is sung. It will not be right to say that disrespect is shown by not joining in the singing….” the SC court said in Para 4 of the judgment.

Justice Chinnappa Reddy noted in paragraph 2 of his judgment that that the High Court “misdirected itself” by considering the national anthem in minute detail and concluding that “there was no word or thought… which could offend anyone’s religious susceptibilities”. “But that is not the question at all. The objection of the petitioners is not to the language or the sentiments of the National Anthem: they do not sing the National Anthem wherever, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in India, ‘God save the Queen’ in Britain, the Star-spangled Banner in the United States and so on…,” the order said.

The verdict is considered a landmark judgment on freedom of speech in India. The order can be read here. 

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia

In a 73-page judgment, Justice Dhulia noted in para 79 of his judgment, “fraternity, which is our constitutional value, would therefore require us to be tolerant, and as some of the counsel would argue to be, reasonably accommodating, towards the belief and religious practices of others. We should remember the appeal made by Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy in Bijoe Emmanuel — our tradition teaches tolerance; our philosophy preaches tolerance; our Constitution practices tolerance; let us not dilute it.”

Distancing the hijab ban case from the essential religious practice issue, Justice Dhulia acknowledges wearing hijab as the individual’s right to choose. He states it unfortunate that the education of Muslim women had to suffer.

“A girl child for whom it is still not easy to reach her school gate. This case here, therefore, has also to be seen in the perspective of the challenges already faced by a girl child in reaching her school. The question this court would put before itself is also whether we are making the life of a girl child any better by denying her education merely because she wears a hijab!” he noted in para 65 and 66 of his judgment.

He continued by saying that under the constitution, donning a hijab should only be a matter of personal preference. It may or may not be a requirement for practicing one’s religion, but it is still a matter of conscience, conviction, and expression. As long as a girl chooses to wear a hijab, even in a classroom, she cannot be prohibited from doing so, according to Justice Dhulia. In certain circumstances, wearing a hijab is the only way a girl’s orthodox family will allow her to attend school.

There is a sharp contrast between the divergent opinions of this Bench of the Supreme Court. The actual problem here is not whether or not the hijab is worn; rather, it is the intrusive State’s denial of a person’s right to choose and the impact this has on a minority population in India. Today, a state that is headed for elections and is being purposefully divided along religious lines is using the uniform as a shield to demonstrate a fake uniformity and win political brownie points. Muslim women are denied the power to make their own decisions as lawmakers sit in their high seats, making pronouncements, and deciding whether or not the hijab is an essential Islamic practice. Access to education, dignity and freedom of expression are all basic rights, granted to us by our forefathers. But are they limited to the majority only?

It is now obvious that the topic has proven to be extremely polarising at all societal levels, and the case symbolizes the dilemma facing Indian culture and the rest of the globe over the actual nature of secularism. Does this imply that the government has a wholly neutral attitude toward all faiths, or does it imply that it recognises and tries to meet the needs, anxieties, and ambitions of individuals who lack the support of a large majority?

While the opinions forwarded by Justice Dhulia are refreshing and welcome, it is pertinent to note that while another bench is being constituted by the Supreme Court, the ban on the hijab still exists. Muslim girls are still not able to continue with their education, even though one year has passed. We might or might not agree with the practice of wearing hijab, but it will be wrong for us to delude ourselves that we are doing the Muslim women a big favor and bringing progress in this nation by imposing a ban on hijab. Forcefully taking away their choice, identity and self-expression might have the opposite effect.

The judgment by Justice Dhulia can be read here.

Related:

It is a matter of choice, nothing more nothing less: Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia in Hijab Ban case

Hijab Ban case: SC wonders if right to dress also makes right to undress a fundamental right

BREAKING: Wearing of Hijab not essential religious practice: Karnataka HC

Justice Hemant Gupta’s take on secularism, fraternity and uniformity in the Hijab Ban case

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With the horrors of the deadly virus still in the air, this would appear to be like a remarkable fairy tale in the post-Covid pandemic scenario, almost like a dream come true, almost like the Sound of Music multiplied many times over. It is quite unbelievable, but true.

Across the dense forests and zigzag hilly terrain, full of water bodies, rivers and lakes, interspersed with sloping meadows, land turned into jhoom (burnt land,  shifting cultivation) and allowed to discover its own bio-diversity untouched by human intervention for years, and lush green paddy fields, a dream is truly and slowly coming true. The dream of Ajendra and his wife Madhavi Reang. And, surprisingly, even during the pandemic and lockdown, the dream flowered.

Next to the green density of the Chittagong Hill Tract across the Bangladesh border, in the Karbook subdivision of Tripura, are several scattered and distant villages inhabited by the Reang community. Soft-spoken, gentle and beautiful, these hard working communities lack basic infrastructure – not an unusual phenomenon in distant tribal locations across the mountains, plains and forests inhabited by the tribals in various parts of India – from Abhujmarh in Chhattisgarh to Niyamgiri in Western Orissa. In the Northeast, particularly, invisibilized by mainstream India and its media, the communities live far away and undisturbed, but often without any amenities: roads, health centres and hospitals, schools and colleges, and drinking water.

In the region bordering the Chittagong Hill Tract, the 50,000 odd tribals of the Reang community lack especially one important thing: education for their children. For their children to be educated is a deep and internalized longing that cuts across caste, communities, religions, geographies and inherited histories in most parts of India. Everyone wants good education and health systems for their children and their communities.

That is why the dream is flourishing and unfolding every day in village Shimbhua, at the St Thomas School and hostel, run by Ajendra and Madhabi, his wife. In a context where there are literally no teachers in most schools, and where children have to walk for miles in the dense forest to reach their schools and return home, both of them have set up a school which is becoming a role model.

There are 300 students in their school, 200 of them hostelers. So who are these kids?

These are mostly toddlers, little ones, barely three years or less, girls and boys, and some kids older than them. The little ones are helped by the older ones– for instance if they wet their pants, or need to go to the toilet. The girls live in separate quarters, cleaning and sprucing up the place, still active despite the heat.  It is a hot afternoon, so the boys have had their meals and are now resting, on the ground, on the beds, two in one, deep asleep, in their separate hostel. The kids play football, cricket and other games. Many of them were enjoying a break at the empty bus stop near the school, laughing, screaming and playing. They waved with joy when they saw us.

The question is why and how have their parents, who live in distant tribal settlements in the forest, often with no transportation, chosen to trust the couple and left their little ones in their care? And how does this confident couple manage so many kids next to their house?  And how do so many kids live in harmony and peace, without missing the comfort of their own homes and their parents and siblings?

In a context whereby most schools do not even have teachers or in a context when secondary education is all but absent in many tribal hamlets in the north of Tripura, this school in the south, close to the border of Bangladesh, is becoming a landmark in primary and secondary education.

There are 13 teachers in the school, both male and female, and all of them are young, confident and committed. A young woman teacher came out of the girls hostel, shook our hands and welcomed us, speaking English. The other teachers joined in the discussion on the problems and difficulties facing the people, and how the Forest Rights Act and the Gram Sabha have been missing in this area, though people still own community and individual lands in the forest, mostly for jhoom cultivation.

Madhabi studied in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, though she could not  complete her graduation. There is a Reang community there, so she could travel all the way there for higher education. Now, she is a full-time and dedicated teacher in the school, also taking care of the hostel and the meals with the cooks.  One of the cooks is differently abled, but fully involved in the discussion.

Says Ajendra, “I have a dream. We are working to introduce studies up to Class 10. Three students might actually go to college one of these days. These little ones are our life here – we take care of them like their parents. Their parents and community trust us. You see, the lack of education is so stark and parents really want to get their children educated. That is why we have created a hostel as well for girls and boys.”

Around 100 students are day-scholars, while 200 students live in the hostel. Many of their parents visit them almost every week on two-wheelers or auto rickshaws. They bring fruits and food which is collectively shared. Ajendra is a well-off farmer, and owns a car, one of the very few in the area. The day-scholars pay Rs 300 per month, while those in the hostel pay Rs 1200 per month, which includes fees.

“We are committed to bringing in high quality education. If you have suggestions for alternative curriculum, or reference material, please do tell us,” said a teacher, when it was suggested that perhaps they could look into the innovative and imaginative methods used by the NGO, Pratham, to sharpen the minds of the children, to expand their imagination and knowledge systems about daily life and meaningful associations, and to make them more confident in learning the ways of their own indigenous community and the outside world, recognizing objects and their social meanings, while celebrating the world of story-telling and mathematics alike.

So what do they do if there are kids who are too naughty? “Well,” said Ajendra, “three kids did not let us sleep. They would scream at the top of their voice. So we took some advice from our elders. We rubbed a little salt below their teeth when they would scream. That would make them quiet.”

Indeed, the communities here are gearing up to fight a protracted and peaceful struggle for their inherited forest rights in the face of official and unilateral announcements by the authorities that they cannot cultivate or use ‘forest department land’, including for jhoom cultivation. This land, which is essentially their traditional community land for hundreds of years, is precious to them, and they love and protect the forests.

Hence, this school is an eye-opener. It only proves that a new generation of tribal children are getting ready to inherit their history, culture and civilization. And their forests, fully equipped with new knowledge systems and skills.

Amit Sengupta is Executive Editor, Hardnews and a columnist, currently based in Kolkata

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org

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In a study undertaken by the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) titled Impact of Exemption under Article 15 (5) with regards to Article 21A of the Constitution of India on Education of Minority Communities, the child rights body has recommended to the government to bring all minority schools under the ambit of Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan campaign.

At present, the minority schools don’t fall under RTE and are exempted under Article 15 (5) that empowers the government to form any policy for the upliftment of socially backward class, thus forming the basis of affirmative action in private unaided schools in India. Hence, NCPCR carried out an assessment across all minority schools to understand the impact of this exemption on children and their education.

The report states, “The aim of the study was to find out ways to create a pathway to ensure that children in minority schools are able to study in an inclusive environment conducive to their development by receiving both modern & foundational education, as guaranteed by their fundamental rights, along with religious & cultural education.”

Statistics

According to the report, across all communities in minority schools, 62.5 percent of the student population belong to the non-minority community, while only 37.5 percent belong to the minority community. Muslim community schools (20.29 percent) have the lowest percentages of non-minority population among their minority schools. The Christian community schools, on the other hand, have 74.01 percent of the student population belonging to the non-Christian communities.

The report further reveals that the Sikh community contributes 9.78 percent to the total religious minority population and contributes a share of 1.54 percent to the religious minority schools. The Buddhist community schools have 75.12 percent of the student population belonging to non-Buddhist communities and the Parsi schools have 76.92 percent of the students belonging to non-Parsi communities.

Unfortunately, the study shows that there are approximately 1.1 crore Muslim children who are out of school, and the number of madrasas identified is approximately 6,000 only. Mere 4 percent of Muslim children attend Madrasas. Across all communities, 8.76 percent of the total student population belong to the disadvantaged sections. The report reads, “Since minority schools are outside the purview of the RTE Act, there is no compulsion to admit students from disadvantaged backgrounds”.

Tamil Nadu. Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli have no percentage of disadvantaged minority students receiving benefits. Andhra Pradesh has the highest percentage (19.37 percent), followed by Bihar at 12.27 percent of disadvantaged students who have received benefits like minority scholarships, fee waivers, free ships on books and/or uniforms. In total, only 4 percent of students from disadvantaged and marginalised sections all across the country receive such backing and benefits.

Unrecognised institutions

The NCPCR report also highlights the importance of mapping all unrecognised institutions (Madrasas, Vedic Pathshalas, Gumpas), to identify out-of-school children as there are a large number of children who remain unidentified. The report states, “There are a large number of children attending Schools/ Institutions that are not recognised. Children also attend such institutions that are unrecognized as these are unmapped and the number of such institutions is not known. Therefore, whether these institutions provide quality education and the information on the environment these institutions provide to children also remains unknown. Children attending all such institutions (unrecognised and/or unmapped schools) are to be treated as Out of School, even if they provide regular education.”

The report reveals that there are three kinds of madrasas in the country – recognised madrasas which are registered and impart both religious as well as secular education; unrecognised madrasas which have been found deficient for registration by state governments as secular education is not imparted or other factors like lack of infrastructure; and unmapped madrasas which have never applied for registration.

As mentioned above, 4 percent (15.3 lakh) of Muslim children attend madrasas, but this only takes into account the registered madrasas. The report adds that the syllabi of madrasas, that have evolved over centuries, are not uniform, and that “being left ignorant of the world around them, many students develop an inferiority complex, being alienated from the rest of society and unable to adjust with the environment”. It also mentions that madrasas do not have any teachers training programmes.

The survey also talks about disproportionate numbers after drawing a comparison of the population of a religious community in a state to the number of minority status schools of that particular community, which indicates that the “minority status schools are not in proportion to the religious minority population in a particular State.” For instance, the report explains that in West Bengal, 92.47 percent of the minority population is that of Muslims and 2.47 percent are Christians, but there are 114 Christian minority schools in the state and only 2 schools with Muslim minority status.

Suggestions to the government

The Child Rights Body has recommended the government to extend the provisions of RTE to minority educational institutions or make a law with similar effect to ensure RTE of children studying in these minority educational institutions. They have also suggested a greater role of the Minority Cell in NCERT/ SCERTS in giving the fundamental right to elementary education to all children, especially children of minority communities.

In the report, they have also appealed for introspection by management of schools with minority status and religious institutions on their role and contribution. Most importantly, they have suggested the government to undertake mapping of all unrecognised institutions to identify out of school children.

The report also suggests that minority schools are catering to less than 8 percent of the minority children population, despite a large presence of minority students in school-going age groups. Hence, “there is a need to lay down specific guidelines regarding the minimum percentage of students from the minority community to be admitted to the institution”, says the report.

The entire report may be read here: 

Related:

Indian children grossly underweight or stunted across Indian states
Over 8,000 children died by suicide in 2019: Centre
Child labour still prevalent in India
Covid orphans: Mismatch in figures provided by WCD Ministry and NCPCR
Over 1,500 Children Homes caretakers arrested for child abuse, only 75 convicted
Over 1.4 crore children in Bihar don’t have access to digital devices: Centre in LS

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Students, teachers, academicians and many other groups working in the field of education have responded to the call for a Quit India campaign against the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE). 

AIFRTE is a united platform of academics, students, teachers and activists in defence of democratic rights and struggles. It had rejected the NEP 2020 for its push towards the Centre’s “neoliberal and fascist agenda” amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. As per an open letter circulated by AIFRTE, the policy violates constitutional rights, principles and goals of Indians with public-private ‘partnership’ (PPP) schemes that promote the merger and closure of existing government schools. Further, the AIFRTE said the NEP 2020 seeks to centralise the education system by denying the federal structure of India.

“It claims that the neoliberal strategy of privatisation, corporatisation and centralisation of education will provide “universal access” to “quality education” for all. However… the inequalities in people’s life conditions are so extreme that this is not feasible at all… NEP 2020 is [currently being] implemented most anti-democratically through government orders in the absence of open debate amongst parliamentarians in the Parliament. It will lead to a denial of any meaningful education for over ninety percent of children,” said the AIFRTE.

This open letter was shared by many organisations like Delhi’s women students collective Pinjra Tod. Later the collective published its own statement denouncing the evils of the “blended learning” of the NEP 2020.

Excerpt from @AllIndiaForumf1‘s open letter #NEPQuitIndia pic.twitter.com/P039LXWZXl

— Pinjra Tod (@PinjraTod) August 10, 2021

Statement on Blended Learning & #NEP2020 – Part 1

“..Deepening fault lines that deter people’s equal participation in education was not enough distress to get UGC to intervene..rather it makes such failure permanent..”https://t.co/ntn0m8kpZi@AllIndiaForumf1 #NEPQuitIndia
1/4 pic.twitter.com/f2uOZr4mUV

— Pinjra Tod (@PinjraTod) August 10, 2021

The AIFRTE said that the policy is aimed at ensuring that education suffers just like the right to work and to health. It alleged the schemes convert education into a market commodity to be sold and traded for corporate profit. This particularly hinders the education of communities crippled by caste, class, gender, and disability, religion, non-Hindi/ non-English language.

“Those from well-to-do families, educated in elite English medium schools and economically equipped to benefit from expensive private coaching centres, are allowed to further consolidate their economic and social advantages. It is no wonder that NEP 2020 makes no mention of the promotion of diversity and social justice through the Reservation policy,” said the AIFRTE.

Along with students, organisations like the Telangana Progressive Teachers Federation (TPTF) also protested the NEP 2020 on Tuesday. Other groups and individuals also joined the protest with their own banners and messages. The Twitter storm will continue on August 11 and August 12 as well.

#NEPQuitIndia pic.twitter.com/4rW74hMn5A

— M. Srinivasulu. Gen. sec. TPTF (@SrinivasuliM) August 10, 2021

#nepquitindia
2/5
It would impart skills which ease their early entry into the informal labour market, and thereby preclude a majority from entering higher education. At the higher education level too, there is an overt emphasis on vocational education.#NationalExclusionPolicy pic.twitter.com/STKJICtLPA

— KYS – Delhi University (@DelhiKys) August 10, 2021

#NEPQuitIndia@AllIndiaForumf1
Fight against saffronisation of education. Keep Brahmanism and Manuvaad away from Indian education. Fight against NEP2020. – @AirsoCenter @ranjanshishu86
@PMOIndia @EduMinOfIndia @rashtrapatibhvn @thewire_in @TheQuint @the_hindu @BBCHindi @epw_in pic.twitter.com/oFoU1nhadR

— Shishu Ranjan (شیشو رنجن) (@ranjanshishu86) August 10, 2021

#NEPQuitIndia@AllIndiaForumf1

Education is not a fish that is sold in the market. It is a basic right. @sumitraj222 @AirsoCenter@PMOIndia @EduMinOfIndia @rashtrapatibhvn @ndtv @thewire_in @TheQuint @the_hindu @BBCHindi @epw_in pic.twitter.com/nvE7Xgvktg

— niranjan koickal (@niranjankoickal) August 10, 2021

The full letter by the AIFRTE can be viewed below:

Related:

AIFRTE announces NEP Quit India campaign
Activists, intellectuals discuss the threat of NEP 2020 on Constitution Day
AIFRTE condemns arrest of Save Education Committee members over NEP 2020
Modi and Sangh shape education in their own mould

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A state-level meet, organized by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum, Bihar, has resolved to campaign to ensure that education should be made the main issue in the forthcoming state assembly elections, scheduled to take place in October this year. During the discussion, which centred around girl child education, speakers expressed concern on the lack of any improvement in the condition of girls in the public education system of Bihar. National convener of the RTE Forum, Ambarish Rai, said, “Millions of school children are still out of school, including in Bihar. The number of girls, who are out of school, is very high, which is very shameful for a healthy democracy.” A round table of academics, educationists, and RTE activists attended.

“The most worrying thing is that despite a decade of implementation of the RTE Act, 2009, which is a very important tool for universalisation of primary education and fundamental right for every child between 6 and 14 years of age, the situation remains extremely difficult”  said Rai.  He added, “Statistics show that girls in India are less than half as likely to get 4 years of schooling as compared to boys. Around 30 per cent of the girls coming from poor families are such who have never been to school. Moreover, 40 per cent of adolescent girls of 15-18 do not go to any educational institution. ”

“A mere distribution of bicycles and school dress will not improve the condition of girl child education. There is a need to address issues ranging from current public spending on education to basic infrastructure for quality education, adequate number of qualified teachers, safety of girls going from home to school, and gender discrimination at all levels in the family and society. “

Earlier, welcoming the participants, Anil Rai, convener, RTE Forum, Bihar, said, “Neither Bihar nor the country can progress by evading issues of education, especially girl child education. Every person, every public representative, every party and every government will have to worry about this. Even after 70 years of independence, education has not been included in the main agenda of our governance.” The gathering of activists decided to launch awareness campaign in every corner of the state to demand strengthening of the RTE Act, universalisation of education and implement uniform education system with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections.

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The government has indeed done a great job in establishing awareness of Right to Education among the masses. Nowadays, most parents are aware of school education being compulsory for children. But what they do not realise is the real benefit and importance of availing school education. Even school going children seem to be not very invested in attending school. The reason is that schools in India do not provide enough exposure to the children and their parents in terms of the long term benefits of education. This is especially common among families from Under-Represented Groups (URGs). As a result, children enrolling to schools are dropping out, and minimal efforts are made in stopping them from doing so.

This is where the Indian schooling system has failed. It has been unable to generate interest in learning among the students. The first thing that a school should teach a child is the art of learning, and everything else follows. But mechanistic, factual and rote learning is what is being done in schools. Also, too much emphasis on academic scores and minimal focus on co-curricular and extra-curricular activities such as arts, skills and physical education have pushed us into this worrisome situation.

By making school education compulsory for children within the age bracket, our government had thought that it had solved the problem of illiteracy in India. And to the credit of the government, it did to an extent. According to the figures indicated in NITI Aayog, adult literacy in India stands at about 74%, which is one of the lowest among developing nations but is still an improvement over the last decade. But one also needs to look at how literacy is defined – “Literates are people above the age of 7 who can both read and write”.  This is what a child entering primary school is capable of, and rightly so one can observe a sharp rise in the number of dropouts right after primary school.

It also brings us to another problem, which is that even school going children are not well versed in basic literacy and numeracy skills despite graduating primary school. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2018 states that almost 30% of Class 8 students cannot read a Class 2 level text, which is alarming. The situation is even worse in the case of basic numeracy skills.

In the current education system, once a student gets left behind, there is little to no hope for them to catch up with their peers. This situation is further aggravated by the fact that there are also not enough teachers to teach the students. According to ASER 2018, the Pupil to Teacher Ratio for overall India is 57.8. The government should note that this is a huge employment opportunity sitting right in front of us and take necessary actions to recruit enough teachers for the betterment of everyone.

This begs the question: Has the education system in India achieved the goal that it had set out to achieve? If enrolling children to schools is the first step in achieving literacy, it has certainly achieved that. The government has solved the problems in the accessibility of education. But will that alone suffice in building a substantial human capital for our nation?

How can this situation improve?

Now is the time to focus on improving the quality of education across India. With the rapid advancements being made in the tech industry, there has arisen a high requirement for skilled individuals more than ever. Some steps to be taken in ensuring a quality education system in India and thus a better future are:
 

• Introducing children to interactive and interrogative methods of learning right from their nursery phase.
• Maintain the Pupil to Teacher ratio at an optimal level by recruiting and training new teachers. The quality and method of teaching should also be improved. Regular training modules should be designed to check and enhance teachers’ performance continuously.
• Evaluation should be based on the all-round development of children and should not in any way restrict the student to their scores.

The government should realise that it still has a long way to go in ensuring quality education for all and start making investments in improving school education.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” – Benjamin Franklin.

The National Education Policy Draft 2019 does bring in some hope in this aspect, such as the Emphasis on Early Childhood Education, Focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Development of Balanced Curriculum and Focus on hiring local teachers. The vision set by the committee for the future of school education in India seems to be bright. But how it will accomplish these goals and generate the financing required for them are not laid out and remains to be seen.

Courtesy: Counter View

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Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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