Annual Report 2008-2009 • Role and responsibility of each level of government/administration must be clearly defined in ensuring enforcement of the right to education. • The Government should make necessary provisions for early childhood care, education and development for the children of the age group of 0 to 6. • Minimum standards for all aspects of quality of education, including infrastructure, curriculum, teachers training, education and other pedagogic dimensions must be prescribed in consultation with professional bodies. • Universal access to quality education has to be treated as non-negotiable. Provision for free textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meal should be made universal. • There is a need to eventually convert short-term interventions like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Universal Elementary Education Programme) into the formal system of education. • The scheme of para-teachers needs to be abolished altogether and fully qualified and trained teachers need to be recruited. For this purpose there is a need to expand and strengthen the teacher education/training institutions. • There is a need for substantial hike in the financial allocation to education. The allocations need to be periodically reviewed and enhanced to meet the requirements. Expenditure on education should not be treated merely as expenditure but as an investment. • The educational objectives must be made realistic and achievable. There is a need for a strict time-frame for implementation of the right to education. • “Education for all” implies that education is extended to all children in a conducive environment without discrimination and disparities in gender, socio-economic groups and other vulnerable sections of society being eliminated. • While education should follow common norms, it should also be adapted to local situations. Every child should be taught in the first language/mother tongue at least for the first two years, during which the child should be helped to learn in the prescribed medium of instruction(s) in the State. The Three Language Policy should be strictly implemented. • Effective regulatory and evaluation mechanisms should be put in place to ensure implementation and quality assurance in the school education system. • Private unaided schools should also enroll children of poorer sections. • Continuous assessment should become the norm, both for teachers and children in school including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). • The existing norm of teacher-pupil ratio of 1:40 in primary schools and 1:35 in upperprimary schools should be maintained throughout. However, as a long-term goal, efforts should be made to reach a ratio of 1:20/25. 89