Right to education or expulsion?

Schoolgirl rusticated as she could not pass her Class VI final exam

Schoolgirl rusticated as she could not pass her Class VI final exam

Suman Bhati can read and write, but will not be called educated.
Reason: She has been expelled from school for not clearing her Std VI final exams.
This comes as a huge irony as the Right to Education Bill will be enforced from today, providing free and compulsory education to children between 6 to 14 years of age.


Playing with the future: St.Xavier's School in north Delhi

Bhati, a student of St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School in north Delhi, was asked to leave the school on the ground that she couldn't pass. On March 27, the principal handed over Bhati's mark sheet to her father, which had "detained and withdraw" written on it. For three consecutive days, Bhati's father, Naresh Bhati, kept pleading to the principal to not expel her daughter as it would ruin her future, but to no avail.u00a0

"My daughter almost broke down when she heard about it. I consulted my family physician who asked me to keep her happy or else Suman may go into depression in the long run," said Naresh Bhati.

What the law says

The provisions of Rules 35, 36 and 37 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973 and Section 16 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 say that no student admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education.

"I submitted a written application to the principal, requesting him to permit my child so that she can continue her studies. But the principal was not ready to listen and treated me like an animal. He was adamant about his decision and declined to accept my request," added Naresh.

"It's unfortunate that at a time when the government is coming up with laws, schemes and policies to encourage the education of the girl child, a school is trying to jeopardise the future of this child by expelling her.

It's unfair and illegal to expel a student for not clearing her exam. One should be given a chance to improve and be urged to perform better in future," said senior lawyer Ashok Aggarwal, who also runs a civil rights group called Social Jurist.

Despite repeated phone calls, the school authorities did not respond. However, a staff member from the school said, "She is not the only girl who has been expelled. There are many more. All this is done to earn money through donations. The school has already started the process of admitting new students for Class 6 and 7."

Fundamental right

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill seeks to provide education to children aged between 6 to 14 years. For disabled children, the upper age limit for receiving free education has been relaxed till 18 years. The Bill, one of the flagship programmes in the 100-day agenda of the UPA government, also earmarks 25 per cent seats to weaker sections in private schools. In addition, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights will soon set up a monitoring cell for the RTE Act. Each state has also been asked to set up a State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).