Right to education: Window to success
By: Fr. Loyola Antony
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The historic implementation of the Right to Education Act by the Government of India on 01 April 2010 is yet another edifying success of the Nation. Thorough this Act, India has sent put a powerful message to the world at large that our country has irrevocably become conscious of the importance of education, the key to success. In spite of the various barriers to this endeavor, namely; financial constrains, uphill task of execution, wide prevalence of corruption, etc., the Government is all set and determined to go ahead with the intended project. However, there has been fresh demand from many States to meet the maximum expense by the Central Government. If the State has welcomed the move of the Centre as unique and revolutionary, then there is minimal reason for these States to express their incapacity. This reluctance might be an indication of their deplorable attitude towards growth and development of the common folk. This calls for an inclusive outlook towards RTE. It is when each State realizes the significance of education, only then it would be feasible for the states to promote RTE come what may. From this perspective, it may be suitable to share some views on the implication of Right to Education. The fact that every person enjoys the basic dignity of human beings entails absolute Right to Education. Right to education is a sacred right. It calls fro imparting every child the right to elementary education. Here comes the role of true education. The education always aims at formations of human person and for the good of the society. Therefore, everyone, especially children must be helped to tap their physical, moral and intellectual aptitude. This enables the children to become self reliant and subsequently responsible persons in the society. Besides, everyone should be trained in such a way that they would be well prepared to evaluate moral principles with a right conscience. This would facilitate them to have personal adherence and deeper knowledge of God and sincere love for fellow beings. When we dwell on the implementation of the right to education, we cannot but take into account the vital role of parents. Parents by the mere fact of having given children their life, have the obligation to educate their children. Educating their children is the duty and right of every parent. In fact parents are the primary and chief educators. They can never evade from this sanctified duty. They need to create a favourable ambience where their children learn to love and respect God and fellow humans. At the same time, it is the whole society that helps the parents to impart value education to every child. Education endeavors to make every person perfect and to enable them to work for the good of the society and to build up this world. It is the known fact that often times the contemporary society identifies education with merely acquiring job. Even while acknowledging the need to acquire a decent job for our living we cannot ignore the role of education for an egalitarian society. Due to technological advancements, there has been considerable increase in the desire for education in most of the societies. It is also heartening to note that most of the civil authorities do support this legitimate hunger of the people. In this regard, the RTE Act itself is a living example. At the same time, it depends very much on the civil authorities view the attainment of knowledge. If the leaders look at RTE only as an Act to achieve merely elementary education, they would naturally plan the schools and curriculum in a limited manner. Besides, if the leaders focus on their own petty freedom to decide on the type of education, then they might run the risk of the genuine freedom of every parent to give their children the education they want, or the students to learn what they desire according to their conscience. It is, moreover, the duty of every country to ensure that all its citizens have the possibility of access to a due share in culture and the freedom to exercise their civil duties and rights. At this juncture it is of most importance to realize that schools take the prime importance among all educational mechanisms. Schools need to be designed primarily to develop the intellectual faculties of the students. Schools should shape the ability of the students to judge rightly. It is again the schools that must hand on the cultural legacy of previous generations to the present. Schools are meant to foster a sense of values and prepare the students for professional life. It is when the schools promote friendly relations and a spirit of mutual understanding among them. In this sense, the role of the teachers is something great a vocation. They are, in fact, the representatives of the whole human family. This vocation also demands special qualities of mind and heart, careful preparation, and readiness to renew and to adapt in tune with the change of time. Hence we need a type of education that would embrace high ethical and moral standards. It was the Athenians who believed that a free man should a liberal education in order to perform his civic duties and for his own personal development. Education should nurture and preserve the innate innocence of every child. At this juncture we need to keep in mind the imperative goal of education, that is, the moral development of each child. A good character always rests on knowledge while misconduct result from an inadequate education. A quality education enables one to give due attention to self-preservation such as health, diet, and exercise. We need education to perform our occupation so that we can earn a living, including the basic skills of reading, writing, computation and knowledge of them science. While the education builds up the potentials of every child, it also uplifts the society and the principles of religion, for an orderly living. To this end the Right to Education Act by the government of India would be an appropriate channel before our nation produces complete literacy. Certainly the Right to Education is a window to progress. Fr. Loyola Antony, St. Antony School, Tenyiphe.
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