SC warns against neglecting education; China to become largest English-speaking country

Terming the Right to Education Act as apparently being on paper, the Supreme Court today asked the government to change its attitude towards education and cautioned that China would become the world's largest English-speaking nation in the world in another ten years.

"If you continue with your attitude, then in another 10 years China would become the world's largest English-speaking nation in the world. Today, if you go to China, all little children there speak in English. In another 10 years, they will overtake you.

"You talk about Right To Education and providing free and compulsory education to all children below 14 years. But all this seems to be only on paper for public consumption," a two-judge bench of the court said directing the UPSC and the Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board (DSSSB) to file affidavits on the nearly 6000 vacant teachers' posts in government schools.

The apex court also asked the MCD to file a separate affidivat to explain the infrastructure facilites in the 1,721-odd schools run by the civic body.

The bench expressed its views after being irked by an affidavit filed by the Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta on January 8 in which he submitted that it would take at least two years to fill up the vacancies due to procedural policies adopted by the UPSC and the DSSSB.