Chairperson addresses "National Convention on Education 1999"

Mr.Justice J.S. Verma, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission was the Chief Guest at the inaugural session of a three-day "National Convention on Education 1999" which was organised on 18 November 1999 by the National Alliance for the Fundamental Right to Education with the aim of realizing every child’s right to education. Speaking on the occasion, Justice Verma said that the right to development is the most sacrosanct of the rights of the child. The entire society has an obligation to enable every child to develop fully and realise his or her full potential. Proper development of a child takes place only when he is educated. Education provides the child with the right to grow up with dignity. Without this right to education, the right to equality is also a farce.

Speaking of the proposed 83rd amendment to the Constitution, which seeks to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years, Justice Verma observed that though such an amendment was welcome, the existing provisions of the Constitution already accorded that right. He added that Article 21, Article 16, Article 19 and Article 45 have to be read together, and interpreted to mean that education is a fundamental right of the child.

The Chairperson lamented the lack of an appropriate level of Governmental expenditure in this crucial sector. He said that instead of the necessary 6 per cent of GDP on education, the actual expenditure was only about half of that. He also called upon non-governmental organisations to be more pro-active in this area relating to the development of the child. He said that mere legal provisions would not ensure complete literacy unless there was proper implementation of schemes with the active participation of every section of society. "Unless we tackle this problem on a war-footing, we shall not be able to restore this valuable right to about 40 per cent of the population of the country. People must be made to realise that child labour cannot be abolished unless education is made free and compulsory. The two must go hand-in-hand. "