Role of Welfare State in Right to Education
Prachi Kumari
N.B. Thakur Law College, Nashik
This blog is written by Prachi Kumari, a Law Graduate of N.B. Thakur Law College, Nashik
Welfare state and Education share a very strong interconnection. This arises by structural transformations in Postwar Capitalist Democracies. Education believes to plays important role to mitigating social and economic inequality. Welfare state and education have deep interconnections is much more complex than it assumed. India has long lists of the various constitutional commitments, Policies and programs acknowledged the right to education yet RTE (Right to Education) Act rectified in 2009, is the First Central Government Legislation to granted this right by Law.
Idea of Welfare State
The Welfare State is a State which does maximum functions for the Individual always keep trying to make his life more and more comfortable. Welfare state provides maximum freedom to individual. In Welfare State, State is responsibility of welfare of individual. Welfare State is obligated to respect for liberty and dignity of the individual.
According to T.W Kent - A Welfare State is a State which provides for its citizens a wide range of social services.
According to Dr. Abraham – A Welfare State is a community where state power is deliberately used to modify the normal play of economic forces so as to obtain a more equal distribution of income for every citizen.
India and Right to Education
India ‘s Right to education made around contract mutual obligations envisaged in R.T.E Act. Right to Education Act,2009 was part series of welfare regulations in early 2000’s. Right to education act is comes into force in a situation of great increasing inequality, democratic widening and depoliticizing economic growth and with government unable to sufficiency address basic challenges of livelihoods and social safety nets.
Right to education act has deep significance of India as its significant shift in terms of education in India. It was born out of a long movement and has direct connection with essence of constitution of India and with aim all citizens all to become educated and for that it is important to make education universalized.
Right to education Act made legally imperative and put onus on all the government to ensure free and compulsory education for all. The Right to Education Act ,2009 enacted by parliament on Aug 4,2009 and came into force 1 April 2010.The enforcement of Right to education act ,2009 made the India one of the 135 countries in the world that have education as fundamental right.
Significance of Right to education Act ,2009
· Providing Free and Compulsory elementary education to every child age of 6-14 years for every weaker section and disadvantaged group.
· Ensuring availability of school in neighborhood as specified in section 6 of act
· Ensuring availability of infrastructure, teaching staff and learning equipment.
· Providing training of teaching staff.
· Ensuring Good Quality elementary education and sets standards and norms specified in schedule.
· Ensuring and monitoring admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by every child
India ‘s Transition and its impact on Right to Education
India is going through a lot of transition in many spheres which is appreciating and benefitted to our country to prosper but not all citizens able to prosper. The country ‘s transition can lead to witnessing widening inequality and failure of state to lift its citizens out of poverty and other forms of economic deprivation.
While some forms of anti-poverty welfare Programs have existed throughout independent India’s history, they had little impact on poor and deprived sections of people. The importance of redistribution for inclusive growth has risen to the top of the social policy agenda only in two decades. The rights based legislative reforms i.e. right to food, work, education in early 2000, in consonance with various independent initiatives by the state governments, made social welfare programs central to public disclosure in the country.
Way forward of Role of Welfare State in Right to Education
Social Welfare Programs must be developed of a System of Support over an individual’s life cycle, which ensures they do not fall below their developmental capabilities for no fault of their own. Social Welfare Policies must be carefully designed in terms of their focus (targeted beneficiaries), from (welfare instruments such as cash, food, etc.) and scope (development goals) with due consideration to the changing economic structure of an economy and developmental challenges at hand such as poor, income, nutrition etc.
Welfare Policies, therefore should be designed around a menu of assistance to ensure a “social minimum” by addressing both current and anticipated likehood human deprivation. Social Safety nets as a system of protection against risks and vulnerability and through social empowerment.
We have to make sure individuals are free from existing and potential deprivations, therefore broaden the scope of poverty reduction in the country.
References
1-The Evolution of India’s Social Welfare Regime and Future Challenges | Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) (upenn.edu)
2-Right to Education Act: Significance, guarantees, gaps and reforms - India Today
3-firstPage-S104909651600295Xa.jpg (800×1145) (cambridge.org)
5-Concept of Welfare State and Its Relevance in Indian Scenario (legalservicesindia.com)