Education: Meaning And Scope

Education is the process of developing and acquiring knowledge, values, skills and attitudes. It is a lifelong process and it can be acquired at any time or age, by any ways or means and by everyone or anyone.

The word education is derived from the Latin word "Educare" which means ' to bring up' or 'raise up'. [1]

Education is a process of lifelong learning.[2] And neither learning has ever stopped nor will ever stop, whether it is formal learning or informal learning. Hence Education needs to be taken care of with the top-most priority.

In this ever-changing world of modernization, the term "Education" is also modernized, not only the method of its propagation and types have been diversified but new technological innovations for receiving education have also been added.

As time changes, things also change according to the need of the hour, so as Education.

Education, nowadays is not limited to the traditional method where 'the teacher is teaching and the student is writing down from the blackboard. It is not limited to a classroom or a school only. There has been a vast shift from this to the use of technological innovation in education (such as smart boards, the use of Artificial technology ), encouraging classroom interaction between student and teacher, including co-curricular activities as a part of education, etc.

But the question is: 'Whether this shift or change has been able to maintain the equity and ensuring the 'Quality Education' to uphold concept of " Right to Education" or not ?

To answer this, we have to explore and overview the true meaning and evolution of the term Education through the meaning of "Right to Education".

Right to Education and Quality Education

Quantity without Quality cannot enhance the use of the product or contribute to its rightful utility. Likewise, the Right to Education without the Right to Quality Education is meaningless. Right to education not only focuses on free and compulsory education but also encompasses the concept of " Quality Education" as its true essence and soul.

Hence, here the Question arises of - What actually a "Quality Education" or "Right to Quality Education mean" ? And How is quality education to be the true soul and essence of the Right to Education?

Quality in something can be defined as a distinguished high standard in a thing in its better and natural form. Hence adding 'Quality' to 'Education' can result in an enhancing meaning of education. Education is not merely able to write, read and speak but is able to analyze, reanalyze and synthesis any information and able to development the knowledge to incorporate it into mind, body and soul. This is only possible when the colours of "quality" are painted into the bare white paper of Education.

Quality in education is just like the vibrant colours in a drawing. Quality education forms the soul of the Right to education as quality ensures the equity and provides the required standard and norms for the type of education that will be acceptable, accessible and adaptable by all. The word "quality" may be subjective, but we know, that what we need in education, is the "best form of quality in education".

Quality education embraces each and every form of Education that could uphold the true soul and essence of the Right to Education. Hence Quality Education is a concept of importance that is inseparable from the meaning of the Right to Education. In other words, without achieving the Right to Quality education the goal of the Right to Education cannot be fulfilled in its letter and spirit.

Right To Education In India

In India, the Right to Education was initially added by the wisdom of the Framers of the Indian constitution under the DPSP ( directive principle of state policy) Article 41 read with Article 45 casting an obligation upon the state to ensure the early childhood care and education for all children.

Although it was too late to implement the directive principles but it is praise worthy that the "Right to Education" was incorporated to the Fundamental Rights under the Constitution under Article 21-A by the 86th constitutional amendment on 13th of December 2002.[3]

Article 21-A of the Indian constitution states that - "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine."[4] Following the above constitutional mandate, the parliament has framed the RCFCE Act (The Right Of Children To Free Compulsory Education Act, 2009 ) which came into force on 1st April 2010.[5]

In the very recent landmark judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Devesh Sharma v. Union of India and others, 2023 (SC) 633, 2023INSC 704, the object and reasons of the Act has been declared loud and clear that what the Act seeks to achieve is not just merely 'free' and 'compulsory' elementary education, but equal importance to be given to the 'Quality' of the education. The preamble of the RCFCE Act and section 8(g) of the RCFCE Act cast an obligation upon the central government and state Government to ensure Quality Education. Thereby stating every child has the right to access full-time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable 'quality' in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards, which are to be essentially provided to every children.[6]

Yet, the goal of achieving 'quality education' for all is still at the pace of the tortoise for the reasons of insufficient accessibility to proper education and infrastructure, lack of vigilant supervision at the grassroot level ( rural ), inadequate number of able teachers and quality equipment, and lack of coordination between teacher, parents and the child,etc.

Apart from the above if we look at higher, professional, vocational, and technical education, the same also suffers from various shortfalls at the instance of the govt. so also at the socio-economic factors.

Situation in the International Sphere

If we glance at the world's situation, Quality education has been given priority as one of the most important Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) by the UNESCO. Quality Education has been listed as Goal 4 in the global priority list after poverty (SDG -1), hunger (SDG-2) and health (SDG - 3). SDG- 4 Prioritises inclusive equitable Quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. [7] Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) says that "Education is a fundamental human right for all".

This right was further detailed in the Convention against Discrimination in Education.[8] Quality education plays a crucial role in fostering well-rounded individuals and addressing social exclusion. By providing education, we empower marginalized children and adults, helping them escape poverty and integrate into society. UNESCO data suggests that if all adults completed secondary education, the global poverty rate could significantly decrease.[9]

Article 26 of UDHR talks about the right to education in details stating that Education should be free at least in elementary and Fundamental stage, which should be compulsory. Also, higher education should be made accessible to all on a merit basis along with the general and equal availability of both professional and technical education.[10]

Further, UNESCOʼs collaboration with the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UNCESCR) monitors the implementation of UNESCOʼs instruments in the field of education and has been able to achieve certain goals to stand up to the objective of the "Right to Education.[11]

The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002 entitled "Education for All: Is the World on Track ? " states that "Where the right to education is guaranteed, people access to and enjoyment of other rights is enhanced or not ?" [12]

Recently, UNESCO has formed a Formal dialogue to evolve the meaning and perspective of right to education into a lifelong learning perspective. UNESCO has also taken steps to develop, monitor and promote education norms and standards to guarantee the right to education at the country level and advance the aims of the Education 2030 Agenda. [13]

Shortfalls In Guaranteeing Quality Education

However, there have been a lot of challenges in the process of implementation of the true essence and objective of the Right to Education i.e. ensuring "equity " and "quality education". For many in this world, even till now, getting free and compulsory education is still a challenge. For them "Quality education" is far away from them. Poverty is one of the main challenges in this.

In certain cases, Poverty compels children to engage in child labour leading them not attend school and even drop-outs from school. About 244 million children and youth worldwide are not going to school not only due to economic reasons but also social and cultural reasons.[14] Discrimination and financial differences among different economic classes of society is also still a problem worldwide. In some areas, even though general access to School facilities are still difficult for many. Children still could not access school due to distance factors, absence of connectivity roads or bridge.

Somewhere there no room for teaching and somewhere there are even no teachers. Even though there are teachers in the school to teach, they don't have proper qualification to render teaching. These factors somehow doesn't motivate the child and their parents to take steps towards education.

Recommendation for improvement
Promoting universal access to quality education, Advocating the proper education policy, proper monitoring of the implementation, community engagement, Identifying and addressing barriers to education such as poverty, gender discrimination, disability, and cultural norms, etc are some of the initiatives that we can take to elevate and implement the Right to Education inbuilding Right to Quality Education.

Conclusion
Reasons are lot just only to write down so as solutions, but the important part is "proper implementation" that is needed to be focused on.

Technology has developed a lot and it has connected us to all corners of the world. Hence awareness can be created through social media platforms and web pages. Education can also be accessed online nowadays, the covid- pandemic has become the biggest example of the use of technology in education.

Right to Education including Quality Education is a gateways to other human rights which contributes toward the significant growth and all-around development of society, state and world as a whole.

But we still have to think and act upon on what can be done more to contribute and truly to fulfil the essence of the Right to education i.e. Right to Quality Education.

The Future of the Nation is dependent on the child of today. And 'Quality Education' is essentially an important cornerstone for a child's overall growth and development. Quality in education incorporates a deeper sense of meaning and injects the natural knowledge into the mind, body and soul, hence the Quality education neither be overlooked nor compromised. Our efforts for today will result in a better tomorrow. As children are the future of today therefore things concerning their development and growth should not be at stake. Hence a famous Nobel Prize winning poet – Gabriela Mistral said –

[15] "We are guilty of many errors and many faults, But our worst crime is abandoning the children, Neglecting the fountain of life, Many of things we need can wait, But the child cannot ……. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, His blood is being made, And his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer – 'Tomorrow' Because His name is 'To-day' " - Gabriela Mistral, Nobel Prize winning poet from Chile

Reference:

1. Hoad, T. F. (1993). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283098-8.
2. Vico, Giambattista (1999). New Science. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0-14-190769-7. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
3. basic_in_education.pdf (ncert.nic.in) https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/publication/otherpublications/basic_in_education.pdf. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
4. Footnotes Pg- 11 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15240/1/constitution_of_india.pdf retrieved 12 July 2024.
5. Article 21-A. Right to education. https://www.constitutionofindia.net/articles/article21a-right-to-education/. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
6. Footnote pg -3. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13682/1/rte_act_2009.pdf retrieved 14 July 2024.
7. Devesh Sharma v. Union of India and others, 2023 (SC) 633, 2023 INSC 704. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/65160769/ retrieved 13 July 2024.
8. SDG Goal 4: Quality Education - UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/sdgs/goal4-quality-education/ Retrieved 15 July 2024.
9. Goal 3 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs (un.org).
10. What you need to know about the Right to Education https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/what-you-need-know-about-right-education Last update: 20 April 2023. Retrieved on 18 July 2024.
11. What you need to know about the Right to Education. Why is education a fundamental human right? https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/what-you-need-know-about-right-education Last update: 20 April 2023. Retrieved on 20 July 2024.
12. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 26. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights retrieved on 20 July 2024.
13. Right to Education. Scope and Implementation. General Comment 13 on the right to education (Art. 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). FOREWORD. Para 6. https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/UNESC_RTE_Scope_and_Implementation_General_Comment_13_on_the_RTE_Article_13_ICESCR_2003_En.pdf Retrieved on 22 July 2024.
14. Education for All: Is the World on Track? The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002 UNESCO Digital Library https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000129053 Retrieved on 21 July 2024.
15. Reframing the right to education in a rapidly evolving world: Insights from UNESCO's Formal Dialogue | UNESCO https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/reframing-right-education-rapidly-evolving-world-insights-unescos-formal-dialogue Retrieved on 19 July 2024.
16. UNESCO chief calls for transforming education, with 244 million still out of school. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1125952 Retrieved on 22 July 2024.
17. Quote by Gabriel Mistral https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/537897-we-are-guilty-of-many-errors-and-many-faults-but Retrieved on 25 July 2024.
18. https://symbolgenie.com/origin-word-education-linguistic-journey/ Retrieved on 18 July 2024.
19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_Children_to_Free_and_Compulsory_Education_Act,_2009 Retrieved on 18 July 2024.
20. https://www.right-to-education.org/issue-page/quality-education Retrieved on 20 July 2024.
21. https://concernusa.org/news/quality-education-explained/ Retrieved on 21 July 2024.
22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_education Retrieved on 22 July 2024.
23. https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/quality-education Retrieved on 23 July 2024.
24. https://www.unesco.org/en/right-education Retrieved on 24 July 2024.
25. Book source:
    • Bare Act- The Constitution of India 12 (Professional Book Publisher, New Delhi, 2023)
    • The RCFCE Act (The Right Of Children To Free Compulsory Education Act, 2009)
    • Devesh Sharma V. Union Of India And Ors, judgement document
26. Other websites - Wikipedia, www.google.com, yahoo, www.bing.com, etc.

Award Winning Article Is Written By: Ms.Rupsita Madhusmita Priyadarsini

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