Right to Education bill will end child labour: SC

Updated on: Thursday, January 07, 2010

New Delhi: The Centre assured the Supreme Court that it would strictly implement the 'right to education' by the end of May.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told a bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice B S Chauhan that the modalities were being worked out and the same would be implemented by May-end.

Once the rules are enforced, the problem of child labour would automatically end, he told the bench.The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, seeks to provide education to children between the ages of six and 14 years.

Responding to the assurance, the bench said "we hope if it is implemented in full vigour, children will be in schools and not workplaces."

The Centre's assurance came during the hearing of a PIL which sought effective measures to curb rampant child labour in the country.

Quoting statistics, the Solicitor General said government had been taking a series of steps which was reflected in the appreciable school drop-out rate of girl children. The Solicitor General said that compared to the earlier drop-out rate of 13.75 per cent, the present rate was 11.36 per cent in view of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme launched by government.

Subramaniam said even this drop-out rate would be brought down completely once the new legislation is implemented. However, counsel Ashok Agrawal, appearing for one of the NGOs, sought a comprehenisve legislation to ban child labour in the country.

He said the existing Child Labour (prohibition) Act classified the industries as "hazardous" and "non-hazardous", thus permitting children to work in non-hazardous industries particularly as agriculture labour.

The counsel argued the Right to Education Bill would be a non starter if there is no comprehensive legislation to totally eradicate child labour in the country. The bill, one of the flagship programmes in the 100-day agenda of the United Progressive Alliance government, also earmarks 25 per cent seats in private schools for poor children.

The bill also seeks to do away with the practice of schools taking capitation fees before admission and subjecting the child or parents to a screening procedure. The bill seeks to achieve 10 broad objectives, which include free and compulsory education, an obligation on the part of the state to provide education, the nature of curriculum to be consistent with the Constitution, quality, focus on social responsibility and de-bureaucratisation in admissions.

Right to Education bill will end child labour: SC

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