Sonia expresses concern at high dropout rate

Kapil Sibal, Human Resource Development Minister, presents a portrait of Rajiv Gandhi to National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at the inauguration of newly constructed buildings of thirty-one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, in New Delhi, on Wednesday. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

National Advisory Council chairperson Sonia Gandhi expressed concern on Wednesday at the absence of “one-fourth of the teachers” from village schools and the high dropout rate, especially among the minority and the poor.

Speaking at a function after inaugurating 31 Navodaya Vidyalayas in various parts of the country to mark the 25 years of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, she said: “Everyone has a right to education, and it is not limited to a few.” The Right to Education Bill, she said, would address all issues pertaining to education.

Recalling that the concept was introduced by the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ms. Gandhi said: “I can say that the students studying here are on the right track. Rajiv Gandhi was concerned about the poor…and their children. He felt that the country would not progress till their uplift.”

It was because of Rajiv Gandhi's vision, that 600 such schools were set up, and more than two lakh students were enrolled in them. “They get good education, and it [the school] also helps in the development of their personality,” she said. The education provided in these schools was on a par with the best schools in the country.

However, the resolve should be to work in a better way and to achieve a better educational system, she said. Children should be given such education that would help them keep pace with the changes and developments.

Taking on his critics who had accused him of rushing through the Educational Tribunal Bill that was stalled in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session of Parliament, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said Rajiv Gandhi had wanted the task of imparting quality education achieved in a few months. “If people say that we are in a hurry, I would like to state that Rajivji had said in 1985 that this should be achieved in a few months.”

In its report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had said the Educational Tribunal Bill was drafted in “haste,” while senior Congress MP Keshav Rao opposed the bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying it was being passed in a “hurry.”

Mr. Sibal said that providing quality education was reduced to encouraging mediocrity, and this trend must be changed.

“One of the concepts which got lost in our drive for mass education has been that of excellence. Everything is reduced to mediocrity, maybe even lower than that. This must be changed.”

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are residential co-educational institutions, providing educating from Std. VI to Std. XII, and are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. At least 75 per cent of the seats are filled with candidates from rural areas. Reservation for children of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes is provided in proportion to their population in the district concerned.