 NEW POLITICAL AMBIENCE

The updating in 1992 of NPE, 1986 and its POA, the constitution of a National Development Council (NDC) Committee on Literacy which was later considered by NDC in 1993, the EFA Summit of Nine High Population Countries which was hosted by India in December , 1993, the meeting in February, 1994 of the Chief Ministers exclusively to consider elementary education and adult literacy, the subsequent meeting of the four Chief Ministers of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in Bhopal in July, 1994 were all important events which helped renew the national commitment to universalisation of elementary education and to outline concrete steps to achieve that goal.

These have created a new political ambience. The Prime Minister stated at the EFA Summit that the country was determined to achieve the goal of allocation of six per cent GNP for education during the Ninth Five Year Plan. This was reiterated by the President in his address to Parliament in February, 1994.

The Delhi Declaration

The Delhi Declaration adhered by EFA to call for ensuring a place for every child in a school an appropriate education programme according to his or her capabilities, consolidate efforts towards the education for youth and adult education within the context of an in- tegrated strategy of basic education for all people; to eliminate disparities of access to basic education; to improve the quality and relevance of basic education and in all actions to accord to human development, the highest priority at national and other levels so that a growing share of national and community resources is dedicated to basic education and improving the management of existing resources for education.

In the Chief Minister's Conference there was complete unanimity that EFA should be placed high on the country's developmental agenda and that achievement of the constitutional obligation of UEE brooks no further delay. It is a national challenge which transcends all political differences. The centre and the states would work together with a renewed sense of determination to further the national goals in their field.

It was suggested in the CMs meet that the Tenth Finance Commission should take note of the basic requirements of elementary education and that the exemption under Income Tax Act for donations to universities and institutions of national importance should be extended to elementary education.

It was also agreed by the CMs that along with higher allocation of resources it was necessary to ensure better utilisation of resources through effective implementation and monitoring of programmes in their States. CMs would periodically review the progress in this area. It was felt that special efforts are needed in educationally backward states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

The need to enlist the cooperation of NGOs, teacher's unions and socially conscious individuals came out very clearly in the dis- cussions of the CMs. The shared perception was that without proper decentralisation of educational administration and greater community participation UEE cannot be achieved. The Chief Ministers felt that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments provide an opportunity to decentralise educational administration within the time span provided by the Amendments. The recommendations of the CABE committee on Decentralisation were endorsed and it was decided to appropriately implement the recommendations while enacting the State legislations to follow the Constitutional Amendments and framing the subordinate legislation in a time bound manner.

The Chief Ministers also agreed that special efforts would be made to promote convergence of primary education and related services like ECCE, ICDS, schools health and nutrition. It was felt that apart from improving efficiency such a convergence would promote enrollment and reduction of dropouts.

Following the CMs Conference a Group of Chief Ministers of low literacy and high population states was constituted for periodic review of EFA programmes. This group had already held one meeting in Bhopal on 1st July, 1994, reviewed their programmes and re-affirmed their resolve to acheive EFA by the turn of the century.