It is no longer enough for us to talk about providing for universal access to education. Making available schooling facilities is an essential prerequisite, but is insufficient to ensure that all children attend school and participate in the learning process. The school may be there, but children may not attend or they may drop out after a few months. Through school and social mapping, we must address the entire gamut of social, economic, cultural and indeed linguistic and pedagogic issues, factors that prevent children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, as also girls, from regularly attending and complementing elementary education. The focus must be on the poorest and most vulnerable since these groups are the most disempowered and at the greatest risk of violation or denial of their right to education.
The right to education goes beyond free and compulsory education to include quality education for all. Quality is an integral part of the right to education. If the education process lacks quality, children are being denied their right. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act lays down that the curriculum should provide for learning through activities, exploration and discovery. This places an obligation on us to change our perception of children as passive receivers of knowledge, and to move beyond the convention of using textbooks as the basis of examinations. The teaching-learning process must become stress-free; and a massive programme for curricular reform should be initiated to provide for a child-friendly learning system, that is more relevant and empowering. Teacher accountability systems and processes must ensure that children are learning and that their right to learn in a child-friendly environment is not violated. Testing and assessment systems must be reexamined and redesigned to ensure that these do not force children to struggle between school and tuition centres, and bypass childhood.
Question: According to the passage, which of the following is/are of paramount importance under the Right to Education?
1. Sending of children to school by all parents
2. Provision of adequate physical infrastructure in schools
3. Curricular reforms for developing child-friendly learning system
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Correct Answer :
3 only
Solution :
The correct option is 3 only.
Let us analyze the statements based on the provided passage to understand why only the third statement is of paramount importance under the Right to Education:
Analysis of Statement 1 (Sending of children to school by all parents):
The passage discusses the challenges of ensuring that children attend school and participate in learning. It notes that factors preventing regular attendance include social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and pedagogic issues, especially for children from weaker sections, disadvantaged groups, and girls. However, the passage does not state that parents sending their children to school is of "paramount importance" under the Right to Education. Instead, it places the obligation on the education system and society to address the barriers preventing attendance. Thus, Statement 1 is not correct.
Analysis of Statement 2 (Provision of adequate physical infrastructure in schools):
The passage states, "Making available schooling facilities is an essential prerequisite, but is insufficient to ensure that all children attend school and participate in the learning process." While physical infrastructure (schooling facilities) is a prerequisite, the passage explicitly characterizes it as "insufficient" on its own. Therefore, it is not highlighted as the paramount goal or focus under the Right to Education. Thus, Statement 2 is not correct.
Analysis of Statement 3 (Curricular reforms for developing child-friendly learning system):
The passage emphasizes that the right to education includes quality education for all and states that "a massive programme for curricular reform should be initiated to provide for a child-friendly learning system, that is more relevant and empowering." It highlights that the teaching-learning process must become stress-free, moving away from passive learning and exam-oriented textbook teaching to learning through activities, exploration, and discovery. This makes curricular reforms for a child-friendly learning system a core and paramount objective. Thus, Statement 3 is correct.
Consequently, only statement 3 is correct, which aligns with the option 3 only.
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