Skip to main content

Gross 'injustice' to children: Rs 5000 cr cut in education budget; 15 lakh schools shut down

Counterview Desk 

More than 100 dignitaries, including educationists, academia, social activists, teachers’ union, civil society organisations (CSOs), various networks and people working on child rights, in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have sought reversal of reduction in allocation for education in the Union Budget 2021-22, even as demanding substantial increase in it.
Sent by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum, and endorsed by Alliance for Right to ECD, Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, National Coalition for Education (NCE) India, Oxfam India, Save the Children India, CARE India, Campaign against Child Marriage, and the Center for Social Equity, the letter regrets that, instead of living up to expectations for a hefty rise in the provision in the budget, the budget provides for an amount of Rs 54,874 crore for school education as compared to Rs 59,845 crores in 2020-21 -- a cut of nearly Rs 5000 crore.
It says, the allocation for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan targeting elementary and secondary education has been reduced from Rs 38,751 crore to Rs. 31,050 crore, a cut of Rs 7,701 crore; and the allocation for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) -- the flagship and only programme of the Government of India for supporting the protection, health and education of children -- has been reduced from Rs 28,557 crore to Rs 21,005 crore.
According to the letter, “With the closure of 1.5 million schools, an overwhelming majority of the children going to school, especially from the poor and the marginalized families, have been deprived of schooling for a full year and have been pushed into labour force, house work and worse still, to child trafficking.”
Pointing out that in this situation, the girls have been “particularly hard hit, with pressure for marriage, increased domestic work, trafficking and violence”, the letter states, “Childline (children’s helpline) registered a 17% increase in distress calls relating to pressure for early marriage of girls in June and July 2020, as compared to 2019.”
“Further”, it adds, “With large scale migration of families, hundreds of thousands of children have been uprooted from their schools and communities. A sharp drop in the employment and incomes of a very large section of the population, has affected parents’ ability to spend on education.”
Quoting Unicef data, the letter says, the closure of schools has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools and 28 million getting pre-school education in anganwadi centres, which were also closed, 24 million learners from pre-primary to tertiary education risk not finding their way back to their schools in 2021 when they are expected to open. On top of this, it says, over 40 million children are chronically malnourished.
“According to a World Bank estimate, the learning loss caused by the Pandemic will cost India $400 billion in reduced earnings, an amount likely to be more if additional funds are not allocated to support public education”, it adds.
The signatories on the letter include Prof Muchkund Dubey, Former Foreign Secretary and President, Council for Social Development, New Delhi; Shantha Sinha, former chairperson, The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights; Prof R Govinda, former vice-chancellor National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration; Prof Praveen Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Ambarish Rai, National Convener, RTE Forum; among others.

Text:

We, the undersigned members of civil society organisations, educationists, academics and people working for children’s right to education are deeply disappointed by the cut effected in the outlay for school education in the Union Budget, 2021-22, tabled in the Parliament on February 1, 2021. Given the pitiable condition of school education in the country and the shocks administered to it by the coronavirus pandemic, we were expecting a hefty rise in the provision in the budget for school education. This was essential for accomplishing the remaining tasks of implementing the RTE Act, for compensating for the loss suffered in 2020 and for bringing each of the children of India back to school in a safe and child-friendly environment.
Instead of living up to this expectation, the budget provides for an amount of Rs 54,874 crore for school education as compared to Rs 59,845 crore in the estimate for 2020-21 (a cut of nearly Rs 5,000 crore). The allocation for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan targeting elementary and secondary education, has been reduced from Rs 38,751 crore in the budget estimate for 2020-21 to Rs 31,050 crore in the estimate for the year 2021-22 (a cut of Rs. 7,701 crores). The allocation for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) -- the flagship and only programme of the Government for supporting the protection, health and education of children -- has been reduced from Rs 28,557 crore in 2020-21 (BE) to Rs 21,005 crores in 2021-22 (BE).
There were several pending urgent tasks relating to the implementation of the RTE Act, demanding the immediate attention of the Government through the provision of additional budgetary resources. These were: bringing to school an estimated 3.4 crores of children who were out of school. (NSSO data for 2017-18), putting in place the infrastructure mandated in the RTE Act, filling in the massive teacher vacancies, and providing the teachers, pre-service and in-service training.
The pandemic aggravated these problems and piled up new ones. There are many studies and reports of international agencies which show that the vulnerability of school going children has increased manifold during the period of the lockdown. 
With the closure of 1.5 million schools, an overwhelming majority of the children going to school, especially from the poor and the marginalized families, have been deprived of schooling for a full year and have been pushed into labour force, house work and worse still, to child trafficking. In this situation, the girls have been particularly hard hit, with pressure for marriage, increased domestic work, trafficking and violence. 
Childline (children’s helpline) registered a 17% increase in distress calls relating to pressure for early marriage of girls in June and July 2020, as compared to 2019 (a BBC report). Further, with large scale migration of families, hundreds of thousands of children have been uprooted from their schools and communities. A sharp drop in the employment and incomes of a very large section of the population, has affected parents’ ability to spend on education.
To cite a few figures, the closure of schools has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools and 28 million getting pre-school education in Anganwadi Centres which were also closed (UNICEF), 24 million learners from pre-primary to tertiary education risk not finding their way back to their schools in 2021 when they are expected to open (UNESCO). 
In India, over 40 million children are chronically malnourished, the pandemic has further exposed the fragility of the conditions of these children, (UNICEF) less by the virus itself, but much more by its indirect effect arising out of loss of employment and incomes. According to a World Bank estimate, the learning loss caused by the pandemic will cost India $400 billion in reduced earnings, an amount likely to be more if additional funds are not allocated to support public education.
The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, in its memorandum submitted during the course of the pre-budget consultation with the Finance Minister, emphasized that budgetary provisions had to be made to meet the challenges of getting every child back to school by improving the school infrastructure which had been in disuse for months, restoring hygiene with adequate water and toilet facilities, supporting measures for children who were in need of remedial classes to recover from learning loss due to being away from schools for months together, resuming the provision of mid-day meals which should now include breakfast, as recommended in the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and which should be extended to cover children in secondary schools. It was underlined that if these measures were not adopted and budgetary provisions for these not made, the vast majority of the children of the Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalised communities & those living in poverty, of persons with disabilities and girls in each of these categories, would be left out of the educational stream and would not be able to enjoy their fundamental right to education.
Closure of schools has impacted 247 million school children schools and 28 million getting pre-school education
We are firmly of the view that vastly enhanced level of investment in the social sectors, particularly education will be of immense benefit to the economy and society. This will create by way of providing additional employment, the much needed additional demand to propel the economy on a higher growth trajectory. It will help in building social infrastructure necessary for ensuring sustainable growth. 

The gestation period for investment in social infrastructure is likely to be much shorter than that for building physical infrastructure which we concede, is equally important for accelerating and sustaining growth. Investment in education is the most effective way of realizing the objectives laid down in the Indian Constitution of equity, justice and democracy. The experience of most of the developed countries and a number of emerging economies bears testimony to this fact.
Budgetary provisions for education need to be enhanced substantially also to meet the requirements of the States which are principally responsible for education, particularly school education. The generally fragile and precarious financial position of the states and the local governments have been aggravated by the pandemic. Unlike the Centre, they cannot resort to deficit financing; nor can they fall back upon educational cess as a measure of raising additional revenues. 
It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Centre to compensate the states for the revenue loss suffered by them during the pandemic. The best way to do it would have been to directly transfer resources to financially vulnerable states and local governments. The first step towards this in India will be for the Centre to raise its share for financing centrally sponsored schemes.
India as a country and successive governments in power at the Centre have for a long time been reiterating the objective of achieving the public expenditure target of devoting 6 per cent of GDP to education. The reaffirmation of this objective in the NEP 2020 has given rise to the hope that at long last, this long pending target has a chance of being achieved. For this purpose, the Government should include in the budget for this year a clear fiscal roadmap leading to reaching the target within a specified time period, say five years.
We wish to reiterate that the cut made in the budgetary spending on education in the face of the dire need to substantially enhance it is a gross injustice to the children of our country, who have already suffered immensely. If the budget proposals are not revisited and the cuts are not reversed, these children will not be able to exercise their right to education and the nation will suffer in the long run because of the resultant accentuation of poverty, inequality and mass scale wastage of precious human resources.
We, therefore, urge you to reconsider the proposed budgetary allocation for education with a view to substantially revising it upwards and take the other measures outlined in this statement.
---
Click here for signatories

Comments

TRENDING

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan. 

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria*  Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Creative destruction? The myth of ‘better capitalism’ behind the 2025 Economics Nobel

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak *  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr , Philippe Aghion , and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth .” According to the Nobel announcement on October 13 , one half of the prize goes to Professor Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress ,” while the other half is shared by Professors Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction .”