The bill is set to be introduced during parliament's next session, which is due to start in about two months' time. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) effort to introduce the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Bill in winter session of the Parliament is yet to evoke the countrywide attention of general public.
                                            Bill or Bilk?

Central Governments new bill to make education a fundamental right for children in the age group of six to 14 will help little to alleviate the present problems. The bill apparently failed in linking the issues with
even child labour. More efforts have been paid to raise the public image of the Government in the name of the education of the children. The Bill excludes children upto six years. The primary rights of the
child -- for whom this Bill has been envisaged -- are ignored.

The Bill ignores the ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education). It does not make ECCE mandatory on the part of the government. The ECCE may never get implemented since it is not just for children upto six years but includes women and older siblings (especially girls) who have to leave work or school in order to look after small children at home. Ironically, this is a year officially declared as that of Women's Empowerment.

In 1993, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court declared that education as a fundamental right is for all children upto 14 years, including children upto 6 years. The new Bill dilutes this judgment

When H D Deve Gowda was Prime Minister the aspect of providing universal free elementary education to all children upto the age of 14 was thoroughly discussed. But the Union Law ministry then warned the Centre against guaranteeing universal primary education to children from zero to 14, without finding adequate funds.

Does the present Bill provide for sufficient funds to achieve the objective that the NDA government had set for itself? The answer is NO.

The Union Cabinet had earlier appointed an expert committee which had duly recommended the Vajpayee government in 1999, that an additional Rs.1,40,000 crores over a period of 10 years be set aside for educating 6 to14-year-olds. (The age group 0-6 would require additional funding.) But the present Bill allocates less than half this figure for the purpose. The feasibility of this move is under high suspicion.

South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude Criticizes the New Bill

Referring to the matters of ECCE, education of children upto six years and inadequate funds several NGOs including South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude criticized the new bill. Kailash Sathyarthi, chairperson of South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude points out: "India should resort to educational cess on the multi-national companies, besides regulating the local corporates to realise their social responsibility to achieve hundred percent literacy. More importantly, India should ask various multi-lateral financial institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank to write off the debt servicing charges. India pays about five percent on debt servicing charges whereas it spends only one per cent on the primary education."