Students joined the protest at MG Road, expressing disappointment at the bias evident in the responses of some private schools to the Right to Education Act.
“I want to be a doctor,” says 13-year-old Abhishek. His friend Pavan Kalyan sports the widest smile as he says, “I want to be a dance instructor.” Girls giggle when asked what they aspire to be.
Suman says, “I will run a beauty parlour.” Lakshmi says she will be a teacher. The innocence of these children is touching, and it shames the schools that have apprehensions about opening their doors to students from poor homes. On Monday, these youngsters were there to assert their rights, holding up placards.
Education, it is often claimed, rids people of unreasonable bias. Yet, the circular issued by Bethany High School to parents of its students, only showed the rigidity of some ‘educated’ minds. The circular was revealing of prevalent attitudes, even though it was later withdrawn.
On Monday, students, teachers and members of the Campaign against Child Labour, Karnataka (CACL-K) and the Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), raised slogans against educational institutions that instill such biases. Clarifying, Narasimha G Rao, associate director, Child Rights Trust said,
“There are many private institutions that have an outlook similar to the one that was evident in the Bethany circular. We are protesting against that mindset, not against any particular school.”
While children shouted slogans, students from nearby schools joined them. Ashok Matthews Philip, executive director, SICHREM (South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring) said, “Anyone has the right to oppose a law. However, discriminatory statements like the ones in that circular are just unreasonable, atrocious.”
SICHREM has been recommending that a monitoring agency look into the implementation of the Right to Education Act, since there is a good chance of its subversion. “We have written to the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR),” said Philip, who asserts that education is not merely about academics, but also about values.
P Lakshapathy, executive director, Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), said, “Schools need to be role models. What kind of precedent is the school setting?”Resistance to the RTE makes one question a whole host of assumptions, say educationists.
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