Arjun Singh says no to Compulsory Education Bill

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 (AGENCIES)Minister for Human Resources Development Arjun Singh today rejected in the Lok Sabha the demand by some members to legislate a 'Compulsory Education Bill.' Raising supplementaries, the members said such a Bill would be more comprehensive than the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme being implemented by the government and would indicate the availability of financial resources for the purpose. It would also outline how monitoring would be done for the education programme.

Mr Singh said the first meeting of the Governing Council of the National Mission for SSA was held on February 21,2005 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The meeting discussed the progress of SSA and the members shared their views on the promotion of elementary education in the country, including the problem of dropouts.

The SSA seeks universal retention by 2010. Towards this purpose, the SSA gives special focus to measures that promote retention such as flexible schooling facilities, activities that directly support education for girls, programmes to support children from weaker sections of society and certain educational incentives.