Open Access Research Article
RIGHT TO EDUCATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
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RIGHT TO EDUCATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHT
AUTHORED BY - ISHU RAJ
INTRODUCTION
According to the projection of the United Nations
Population Division, currently young people between ages 15-24 constitute 18
percent of world’s population at 1.1 billion and the world is very close to
reach the peak of historically highest youth population (Lam, 2007). These
young people, across the globe, especially in developing countries, where the
population density and growth is also highest, face unprecedented challenges in
their capacity to access public resources and family resources, stemmed from
waves of cultural and economic globalization. Most critical issues for youth
development are poverty, health practices, gender biases, education,
employment, social responsibilities and good citizenship, juvenile delinquency
etc (World Youth Report, 2003). Demand of skilled workers in the knowledge
economy has created hindrance for a large portion of world youth, especially in
developing countries, where higher education system has not been able to
realize sufficient ‘value addition’ in terms of enhancing the employability in
the new age labor market. Noteworthy point is that, today’s youth find
themselves in an era, where for the first time in the modern civilization,
purely economic value of higher education has reached an unprecedented
proportion. According to UNESCO, “higher education is no longer a luxury; it is
essential to national, social and economic development”. Educational reforms,
therefore, are more intrinsically tiedup with and can have stronger influence
on the youth employment opportunities than ever before. Even more pertinent
issue is that, while numbers and analyses show that the standard and
accessibility of elementary and primary education have improved for most of the
developing countries for the last two decades yet that success story has not
led to a consequential fruition, as expected from a complete education, in
terms of enhancing the employment opportunity or poverty reduction through
self-reliance for today’s youth. The complex inter-relation between educational
policies, pedagogical methodologies and job/labor market dynamics, therefore,
presents us with many interesting facets, which are worth analyzing for
identifying decisive pathways for the development of today’s youth, who are
going to be the primary labor force of tomorrow’s world.
Although the right to
primary education enjoys broad recognition in human rights law, the human right
to higher education is not as fully recognized. There has still been a debate
on whether entering higher education is a luxury or a right in society.
On the one hand, higher
education remaining as a paid service facilitates the learning experience of
the students. Initially, students attending private institutions gain a great
access to a wide variety of learning facilities and unique learning experience
Since these universities are fully funded by tuition and extra fees, they offer
excellent facilities and resources to support students’ learning process. From
well-equipped classrooms, multiple sport facilities to even field trips, they
are all at the students’ disposal. Therefore, inspiring individuals stand a
high chance of discovering their interests, strengths and weaknesses; as well
as enriching their hand-on experience and soft skills. Furthermore, private colleges’
professors are also more dedicated and passionate, in comparison to their
counterparts in the public universities. The large sum of tuition attracts
highly qualified professors with a high level of knowledge and degrees; who
will not only bring significant motivations to engage young learners, but also
build tight-knit relationships with them . In fact, according to a Fraser
Institute study in 2007, professors working in private universities are more
passionate and dedicated to their students[1].
On the other hand,
despite the above-mentioned benefits of private institutions, I still reckon
that the right to higher education is an integral part of the right to
education. Firstly, only by recognizing higher education as a human right, will
poor students with intellectual capacity and ability have an opportunity to
attend advanced education. It has been reported by the Washington Post in 2018
that costs at many universities for bachelor and master are estimated to be
between $50,000 and $70,000 a year, while the median household income is only
$59,039, indicating the luxury of accessing higher education. As a result, many
potential students are deprived of opportunities to enter universities and
colleges due to such exorbitant payments; thus, losing chances of brightening
their prospects. The action of providing higher education as a human right does
social justice to every inspiring individual who enjoys advanced education
regardless of economic backgrounds. Additionally, this law adjustment provides
nations with a higher quality labor force. It is the support from the
government that helps increase the number of people participating in advanced
education and training, who are believed to become a part of the skilled
workforce generating a considerable level of productivity; hence, boosting the
nations’ overall economy. In conclusion, I believe that although charging
higher education creates a better educational environment for the privileged,
the recognition of higher education as a human right still brings greater
benefits in terms of doing social justice to the poor and training a larger
number of skillful workforces[2].
CHALLENGES
OF PRESENT HIGHER EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN INDIA
Since we have got
independence, we are facing challenges to establish a great and strong
education system. Various governments came and gone. Off course they tried to
establish new education policies in the system, but this is very sad to dictate
that they were not sufficient for our country. Still we are facing a lot of
problems and challenges in our Education System . India recognises that the new
global scenario poses unprecedented challenges for the higher education system.
The University Grants Commission has appropriately stated that a whole range of
skills will be demanded from the graduates of humanities, social sciences,
natural sciences and commerce, as well as from the various professional
disciplines such as agriculture, law, management, medicine or engineering.
India can no longer
continue the model of general education as it has been persisting in for the
large bulk of the student population. Rather, it requires a major investment to
make hum an resource productive by coupling the older general disciplines of
humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and commerce to their
applications in the new economy and having adequate field based experience to
enhance knowledge with skills and develop appropriate attitudes[3].
Responding to these
emerging needs, the UGC stated: "The University has a crucial role to play
in promoting social change. It must make an impact on the community if it is to
retain its legitimacy and gain public support". It seeks to do so by a new
emphasis on com m unity-based program m es and work on social issues. Concepts
of access, equity, relevance, and quality can be operationalised only if the
system is both effective and efficient. Hence, the management of higher
education and the total networking of the system has become an important issue
for effective management. The shift can occur only through a system is approach
to change as also the development of its human resource, and networking the
system through information and communication technology.
There are many basic
problems facing higher education in India today. These include in adequate
infrastructure and facilities, large vacancies in faculty positions and poor
faculty thereof, low student enrolment rate, outmoded teaching methods,
declining research standards, unmotivated students, overcrowded classrooms and
widespread geographic, income, gender, and ethnic imbalances. Apart from
concerns relating to deteriorating standards, there is reported exploitation of
students by many private providers. Ensuring equitable access to quality higher
education for students coming from poor families is a major challenge. Students
from poor background are put to further disadvantage since they are not
academically prepared to crack highly competitive entrance examinations that
have bias towards urban elite and rich students having access to private tuitions
and coaching. Education in basic sciences and subjects that are not market
friendly has suffered.
Research in higher
education institutions is at its lowest ebb. There is inadequate and
diminishing financial support for higher education from the government and from
society. Many colleges established in rural areas are non-viable, are
under-enrolled and have extremely poor infrastructure and facilities with just
a few teachers. A series of judicial interventions over the last two decades
and knee-jerk reaction of the government – both at the centre and state level
and the regulatory bodies without proper understanding of the emerging market
structure of higher education in India has further added confusion to the
higher education landscape in the country. There is an absence of a
well-informed reform agenda for higher education in the country. A few efforts
made now, and t hen are not rooted in the new global realties based on
competition and increased mobility of students and workforce[4].
Time to time system
influenced with new challenges and government taken a major role to build the
system. But there are many challenges always faced by the government. Some of
the leading challenges before the higher education system are continuous upgradation
of curriculum to keep in pace with rapid growth of science and technology;
globalisation and the resultant challenges from the international universities;
grooming of m any private institutions without any method of ensuring
maintenance of quality and standard; need for adequate funding to meet the
demands of various novel innovative programmes; developing a meaningful and
purposeful inter-face between the universities, National Research Laboratories,
industries, government and society, etc. ICT in higher education policy may not
be able to completely overcome all these challenges though it may play a role
in information and resource sharing.
There are so many people
in various parts of the country which are still out of reach. This is when we
have emphasized more on our education programs and made our system reachable to
all areas. The government has to rethink these areas to implement more
policies. Money also plays a vital role for the education system which needs to
be unique for all globally recognized syllabus and curricula. Take a look at
our constitution which says that this is the responsibility of central and
state government to build good education system. For that we need to have funds[5]. But
despite there was a large expenditure on the funds every year on Education
where the fund goes and our system remains intact.
Central government
prepares policies and plans while responsibility of State government is run
those policies on ground. The standard education facilities are higher in the
states which are much richer. There is a need to change such defects from the
country’s education system which only can be influenced by increasing funding
and providing better facilities to students. But we know there is always an
increase in the funds for the education system but never implemented in that
area. So we have to work in this area. The government tries to make different
policies which are implement ed but quality is never checked. The majority of
the funds goes in the pockets of officials working for this. There is a vast
need to improve the quality and standards.
The time now is to modernize our education system so
that our country can get much more technically graduated people which can help
our country to developed state. Today’s youth always try to go foreign for
their higher education as they have much better facilities and quality of their
system . Can’t we get that quality here itself? We must stop this brain
drainage so as avoid students to run away from country. Our governments are trying
for various challenges faced but no one is doing well for that. Government cam
e and goes but system remains intact[6].
Higher education is
extremely diverse, and the challenges and issues faced by higher education
institutions are just as diverse. The process of education is not merely
digesting books. I t is also about doing several co-curricular and
extra-curricular activities that give a broader meaning to life in general and
education in particular. I believe that opportunities for such holistic
development are not enough in India. Facilities for the same are lacking or not
easily accessible in India. Even where facilities exist, there is a lack of
information about the same[7].
There is a lack of
universities and institutes for education, but one most important fact is that
the quality of education is absent in higher education. There are very few
teachers, and their knowledge is very insufficient. Most of the teachers are
making money with tuition. I have seen m y places where their tuitions. The
teachers do not have proper knowledge of the subject and resources to student
com m unity are very poor. Students do not have any student-ship ethics, they
just want marks in the subject and they study only to grab jobs. There is no
creativity in students. Our top-class students are hard worker but not
innovative. They are not capable enough to produce new technology. There is a
great need to revolution in higher education. These are just some challenges
which should cover all the aspect in the present scenario of education, and we
have to implement hard on them.
SUGGESTIONS
FOR IMPROVING QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
There are some suggestions and Expectations from
Government, Industry, Educational
Institutions, Parents and Students for improving
quality of higher education[8]
1.Towards a Learning Society- As we move towards a learning
society, every hum an activity will require contributions from experts, and
this will place the entire sector of higher education in sharp focus. Although the
priorities, which are being assigned today to the task of Education for All,
will continue to be preponderant, the country will have to prepare itself to
invest more and more on higher education and, simultaneously, measures will
have to be taken to refine, diversify and upgrade higher education and research
programmes.
2.
Industry and Academia Connection- Industry and Academia connect
necessary to ensure curriculum and skills in line with requirements. Skill
building is really very crucial to ensure employability of academia to
understand and make sure good jobs (keeping in view knowledge + skills+ global
professional skills good jobs).
3.
Incentives to Teachers and
Researchers-
Industry and students are expecting specialized courses to be offered so that
they get the latest and best in education and they are also industry ready and
employable. Vocational and Diploma courses need to be made more attractive to
facilitate specialized programs being offered to students. Incentives should be
provided to teachers and researchers to make these professions more attractive
for the younger generation.
4.
Innovative Practices- The new technologies offer vast
opportunities for progress in all walks of life. It offers opportunities for
economic growth, improved health, better service delivery, improved learning
and socio-cultural advances. Though efforts are required to improve the
country’s innovative capacity, yet the efforts should be to build on the
existing strengths in light of new understanding of the research
innovation-growth linkage.
5.
To mobilize resources- The decline in public funding in the
last two plan periods has resulted in serious effects on standards due to
increasing costs on non-salary items and emoluments of staff, on the one hand,
and declining resources, on the other. Effective measures will have to be
adopted to mobilize resources for higher education. There is also a need to
relate the fee structure to the student’s capacity to pay for the cost. So that
students at lower economic levels can be given highly subsidised and fully
subsidised education.
6.
Coming of Information Age- The world is entering int o an
Information Age and developments in communication, information and technology
will open up new and cost effective approaches for providing the reach of
higher education to the youth as well as to those who need continuing education
for meeting the dem ands of explosion of information, fast changing nature of
occupations, and lifelong education. Knowledge, which is at the heart of higher
education, is a crucial resource in the development of political democracy, the
struggle for social justice and progress towards individual enlightenment.
7.
Student- Centered Education and
Dynamic Methods-
Methods of higher education also have to be appropriate to the needs of
learning to learn, learning to do, learning to be and learning to become.
Student-centered education and employment of dynamic methods of education will
require from teachers new attitudes and new skills. Methods of teaching through
lectures will have to be subordinate to the methods that will lay stress on
self-study, personal consultation between teachers and pupils, and dynamic
sessions of seminars and workshops.
Methods of distance education will have to be employed
on a vast scale.
8.
Public Private Partnership- PPP is most essential to bring in
quality in the higher education system. Governments can ensure PPP through an
appropriate policy. University Grants Commission and Ministry of HRD should
play a major role in developing a purposeful interface between the Universities,
Industries and National Research Laboratories (NRLs) as a step towards PPP.
Funding to NRLs by the government should ensure the involvement of institutions
of higher education engaged in research activities to facilitate availability
of latest sophisticated equipment. There has been some effort both by the
government and the private education institutions to develop the teaching staff
at various levels. However, this needs to be intensified with appropriate
attention to all the aspects related in order to prepare a quality and
sufficient number of educational staff. Such efforts need a very serious
structuring for the research base institutions. We have to be optimistic that
private-public partnership and the Industry interface will take place in the
field of education at all levels, and particularly in the backward regions,
which is the need of the hour. To achieve excellence, we thus need to create a
real partnership between government, educators and industry– Partnerships that
can provide our high- tech industries with skilled workers who meet the
standards of their industry.
9.
To Provide Need Based Job- Orient ed
Courses- All round
development of personality is the purpose of education. But the present-day
education is neither imparting true knowledge of life and nor improving the
talent of a student by which one can achieve laurels in the field one is
interested. So, com bination of arts subjects and computer science and science
and humanities or literature should be introduced so that such courses could be
useful for the students to do jobs after recruitment in some companies which
would reduce unnecessary rush to higher education. The programmed must be
focused on graduate studies and research and developing strategies and
mechanism s for the rapid and efficient transfer of knowledge and for its
application to specific national and local conditions and needs. Meritorious
doctoral students should be recognized through teaching assistantships with
stipends over and above the research fellowships. Finally, based on knowledge
only vision of the future life and work can be had; based on this vision only a
broad ambition can be fixed for oneself; and based on this ambition only one
can lead interesting life doing satisfying job to do remarkable achievements in
some field in the world.
10.
International Cooperation- Universities in India have been a
primary conduit for the advancement and transmission of knowledge through
traditional functions such as research, innovation, teaching, human resource development,
and continuing education. International cooperation is gaining importance as
yet another function. With the increased development of transport and
communication, the global village is witnessing a growing emphasis on
international cooperation and action to find satisfactory solutions to problem
s that have global dimensions and higher education is one of them.
11.
Towards a New vision- India realizes, like other nations
of the world, that humanity stands today at the head of a new age of a large synthesis
of knowledge, and that the East and the West have to collaborate in bringing
about concerted action for universal upliftment, and lasting peace and unity.
In this new age, great cultural achievements of the past have to be recovered
and enriched in the context of the contemporary advancement so that humanity
can successfully meet the evolutionary and revolutionary challenges and bring
about a new type of humanity and society marked by integrated powers of
physical, emotional, dynamic, intellectual, ethical, aesthetic and spiritual
potentialities.
12.
Quality development- Quality depends on its all functions
and activities: teaching and academic programs, research and scholarship,
staffing, students, building, facilities, equipments, services to the community
and the academic environment. It also requires that higher education should be
characterized by its international dimensions: exchange of knowledge,
interactive networking, mobility of teachers and students and international
research projects, while considering the national cultural values and
circumstances. The level of education and knowledge being imparted by many
colleges...is not up to the mark. Instead of concentrating on quantity, these
institutions should concentrate on quality. The approach of doctoral research
in social sciences needs to be more analytical and comparative and be related
to society, policy, and economy. A study conducted on Social Science Research
Capacity in South Asia (2002) showed that the share of the Indian universities
in the special articles published in the Economic and Political Weekly was only
about a 25 percent. This too was dominated by only three universities, namely
Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Mum bai & University of Delhi.
13.
World Class Education- Indian government is not giving
priority to the development of Standard in education. India should aspire for
the international standard in education. Many national universities like in the
USA, UK, Australia, etc. allow studies in higher education for foreign students
in their countries and through correspondence courses as well. In the same way
India Universities of world class education can also offer courses of studies
to foreign students taking advantage of the globalization process. To achieve that
goal, it should adopt uniform international syllabus in its educational
institutions.
14.
Personality Development- Finally, education should be for the
flowering of personality but not for the suppression of creativity or natural
skill. In the globalized world opportunities for educated people are naturally
ample in scope. As a result, business process outsourcing (BPO) activities have
increased competition in the world trade leading towards the production of
quality goods and their easy availability everywhere in the world market. That
is the way the world can be developed for peace, prosperity and progress by
able and skillful men.
15.
To increase Quantity of Universities- We need more universities because we
are more in number, and the present number of universities is too less. On 13th
June 2005 Government of India constituted a high-level advisory body known as
National Knowledge Commission (NKC) to advise the PM about the state of
education in India and measures needed to reform this sector. I t was headed by
Sam Pitroda and submitted its report in November 2007. NKC has recommended
setting up 1500 universities by 2015 so that gross enrollment ratio increases
to 15 percent. I t has also called for establishing an Independent Regulatory
Authority for Higher Education (I RAHE) to monitor the quality of overall
higher education in India.
16.
Examination Reforms- Examination reforms, gradually
shifting from the terminal, annual and semester examinations to regular and
continuous assessment of student’s performance in learning should be
implemented.
VARIOUS
STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT
Enhanced focus on entrepreneurial, communication, and
inter-personnel skill development[9]: Emphasis on essential behavioral,
communication, and entrepreneurial skills in classroom education is almost
missing in India while these ‘soft skills’ continue to get the highest priority
on the list of employers. And undoubtedly, acquirement of these skills helps an
individual not only in the job sector but also to be successful in social
interactions and to practice good citizenship. Simple but highly effective
measures could be:
a)
teaching
students about basic economic principles, constitutional laws, and social
decrees and encouraging them to question the validity and applicability of the
same,
b)
training
young students in interpersonal communication through idea presentation, group
discussion on their favorite topic, group-based simple project demonstration,
group and personal essay contests, etc.,
c)
encouraging
and rewarding students for independent thinking and problem-solving attitude
and discouraging rote-learning tendency.
Increased public
spending on informal, distance, and vocational education[10]: For empowering youth from
economically, socially or logistically disadvantaged areas or families (who has
a high likelihood of being unable to avail formal education), greater emphasis
on informal education should be placed. Distance education (in the form of
E-learning, postal correspondence courses) can be a useful tool to educate
youth in remote rural locations. Polytechnic institutes and craftsman training
centers should be set up in greater numbers and existing ones should be
upgraded with requisite material support. Recently, a study by National Council
for Applied Economic Research (Shukla, 2006) found that television is an
overwhelmingly important source of information for Indian youth (and also for
adults). This powerful and ubiquitous media can be utilized to create an
information network which educate youth about career opportunities and
modalities (for example information about public service job examinations,
educational loan, self- financed small business initiative loan, basic usage of
computers and electronic media and accessories, etc.)
Integrated counseling, evaluation, and career guidance
initiatives[11]: Public or private institutes alike,
the necessity of proper guidance to the student for helping him/her choosing
right career need not be over-emphasized. This process should begin at the
pre-selection phase of a professional course and should continue throughout.
The young mind, which is being educated, has a right to know the purpose of
that very education in a practical world scenario and counseling could be that
window through which he/she sees the educational exercise in its fuller
perspective. This practice can be implemented in an integrated framework,
involving multiple institutions to set up an umbrella body for advising
students on multidisciplinary career perspectives. In a deregulated academia,
this integrated approach can be all the more effective to help discrete centers
of education and learning to contribute in a holistic manner to the greater
cause of youth development. Integrated evaluation process (for example a common
skill test across the country in a particular field leading to a certification)
will help immensely the discrete bodies of the deregulated academia to
self-evaluate their quality of instruction. Standardization of universal
evaluation method will also give much confidence to the industrial employer in
hiring a young graduate.
CONCLUSION
AND SUGGESTION
In conclusion,
I believe that although charging higher education creates a better educational
environment for the privileged, the recognition of higher education as a human
right still brings greater benefits in terms of doing social justice to the
poor and training a larger number of skillful workforces.
After independence, there
has been tremendous increase in institutions of higher learning in all
disciplines. But with quantitative growth has it been able to attend to the
core issue of quality. India is today one of the fastest developing countries
of the world with the annual growth rate going above 9%. In order to sustain
that rate of growth, there is need to increase the number of institutes and
also the quality of higher education in India. To reach and achieve the future
requirements there is an urgent need to relook at the Financial Resources,
Access and
Equity, Quality Standards, Relevance and at the end
the Responsiveness
According to Prime
Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh ‘The time has come to create a second wave
of institution building and of excellence in the fields of education, research
and capability building’. We need an educational system that is modern, liberal
and can adapt to the changing needs of a changing society, a changing economy
and a changing world. The thrust of public policy for higher education in India
must be to address these challenges. However, one university can’t make much
difference. If the government welcomes more such initiatives, the future will
be ours. We will be able to match and compete with other countries and the
dream of being the world’s greatest economy won’t be difficult to achieve.
[1]
Prasad, M. (2005). Autonomy and Commercialization of Higher Education. Social
Scientist, 33(11/12), November- December, 43-48.
[2]
Hauptman, A.M. (2002). Measuring Market Reliance and Privatization.
International Higher Education, 27, Spring, 10-11.
[3]
Gupta, A. (2004). Divided Government and Private Higher Education Growth in
India. International Higher Education, 35, Spring, 13-14.
[4]
Washer, P. (2007). Revisiting Key Skills: A Practical Framework for Higher
Education. Quality in Higher Education, 13(1), April, 57-67.
[5]
ibid
[6]
Couturier, L. (2002). Humanizing the Spectre of the Market. International
Higher Education, 27, Spring, 11-13.
[7]
ibid
[8]
Gupta, A. (2004). Divided Government and Private Higher Education Growth in
India. International Higher Education, 35, Spring, 33-64.
[9]
Chattopadhyay, S. (2009). The Market in Higher Education: Concern for Equity
and Quality. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(20), July, 18, 53-61.
[10]
ibid
[11]
Chattopadhyay, S. (2009). The Market in Higher Education: Concern for Equity
and Quality. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(20), July, 18, 73-81.
Article Information
RIGHT TO EDUCATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
Authors: ISHU RAJ
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/04/17
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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