BENGALURU: Even though various state governments, including Karnataka, has been trying to raise awareness regarding to Right to Education (RTE) Act among various stakeholders, including parents and private school managements, experts felt reaching out to students and informing them was essential. This has inspired the Centre for Child and the Law (CCL) in National Law School of India University (NLSIU) to develop a new comic book, especially for the students.
Free and compulsory education for all children in the country of the age group six to fourteen has been included as a fundamental right since 2002, but not many are well-informed on what and how the RTE Act can be put rightly into use, according to CCL experts. The comic explains various nuances of the right and its possibilities and opportunities with the help of three school-going characters Rajiv, Suma and Akhtar who spots Joseph, another child of their age at a tea shop.
“The comic is designed in a child-friendly manner creating curiosity among young readers to complete reading it to know the facts around RTE in a clear manner. We thought of focusing it to the students as they are the primary beneficiaries of the policy enabling them to report any untoward incident right at the grass root level,” said Niranjanaradhya V.P., Fellow and Programme Head, Universalisation of Equitable Quality Education Programme, CCL – NLSIU.
He added that the comic was designed only in English to encourage understanding the language for students who lack the same at government schools. The comic is expected to create complete awareness among students about various issues including corporal punishment and child marriage. The 22-page comic is now been widely shared on social media groups and among various stakeholders of the education system not just in the state but across the country, experts claim. The comic will also be circulated during legal literacy initiatives taken by the institute apart from how it is shared to students in government schools at the moment.
Centre submits discussion paper
Law and research experts from the Centre also feel a discussion paper including suggestions on how to formulate the new National Education Policy would instigate healthy democratic debates before it is put in place. The team comprises Krithika B.S (author), Ms Shruthi Raman (assistance and inputs), field staff and SDMC volunteers, led by Dr Niranjanaradhya believes extensive discussion with public and stakeholders of the system is quintessential. “A solid foundation based on UN reports, understanding the constitution and analysing the current scenario based on people’s aspiration that has evolved over time is necessary,” the team said in an interaction with Deccan Chronicle.
