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1 Journal home page: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE AND APPLIED RESEARCH RESEARCH ARTICLE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AWARENESS AMONG ADULTS IN RELATION TO GENDER AND RESIDENTIAL AREA OF DISTRICT SANGRUR *Dr. Parmjeet Kaur Sandhu and Gouravjeet Singh Department of Education and Community Services, Punjabi University Patiala. *Corresponding Author Abstract: The present study was undertaken to find out the Right to Education awareness among adults in relation to gender and residential area of district Sangrur. 200 graduate adults were selected randomly on which a Self constructed Questionnaire on Right to Education Awareness was applied. The obtained results depicted that the Right to Education Awareness in the graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur is low. No significant difference in Right to Education Awareness was obtained among graduate adults on the bases of gender and their residential area. Besides this from various researches and reports the researcher also concludes that the issue of Right to Education Awareness is not confined to a district (Sangrur), or a state (Punjab) or our country (India) only, rather it is a worldwide issue. Keyword: Right to Education, Awareness. Introduction The development of a nation is not measured through the constructions it has built, but by the human resources, the nation has developed through a well developed system of education. In India, there are about 300 million (30 Cr.) people, who are below poverty line. According to United Nations Children's Fund "India Statistics" (Retrieved ). Adult literacy of India is %( according to 2011 census) which is below average i.e. 84%. To cope up with the population that is illiterate or below poverty line, the Ministry of India mandates the education for all, by providing the people of India with Right to Education. The right to education is recognized as a human right by the United Nations and is enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Years back in India also, in 1937, Mahatma Gandhi voiced the need for universal education. Later in 1950, Constitution of India, in the directive principles of state policy, stated that All states shall endeavor to provide within 10 years of commencement of constitution free and compulsory education to children till they reach the age of 14 years. In 1976, education became a concurrent subject i.e. a joint responsibility of state and center. Another major policy change came in 1986 through National Policy on Education (NPE), which defined and recommended Universal Elementary Education (UEE). Most of these policies were neither enforceable not justiciable and remained far from achieving their targets. It was only in 2002 that education was made a fundamental right in the 86th amendment to the Constitution. Therefore, before August 2009, education was considered as a Directive Principle, and after passing it in both the houses of Parliament, on September 3 rd 2009 it becomes a law and a Fundamental Right. On 1st April 2010, India joined a group of 137 countries in the world, with a historic law making education a fundamental right of every child coming into force. The salient features of Right to Free and Compulsory Education are given in the Gazette of India (extraordinary) published by the Ministry of Law and Justice. Making elementary education an entitlement for children in the 6-14 age groups, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 will directly benefit children who do not go to school at present. Right to Education Awareness Awareness is having knowledge of; state of elementary or undifferentiated consciousness. Right to education awareness means having the awareness about education as a right among the people of India. Even after 55

2 the declaration of education as a fundamental right there are millions of Indian children who are deprived from their right. In order to make Indian population aware, various programmes are also started by our government and nongovernment agencies. Objectives To study Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults of district Sangrur. To evaluate the difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. To find out the difference in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in rural areas of district Sangrur. To reveal the difference in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in urban areas of district Sangrur. To explore the difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate males residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. To find out the difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate females residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. To evaluate the difference in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. Review of Related Literature Alston P. and Bhuta N. (2005) concluded the importance of Right to Education which helps in bringing empowerment and accountability among the Children or the bearers of the Right. Similarly, Vally S. and Ramadiro B. (2006) expressed their views on the importance of Right to Education claiming it as a base for enjoying all the other Social, Political and Economic rights. Coomans F. (2007) revealed the conditions; Accessibility, Availability, and Adaptability, which are necessary for the application of Right to Education. Bergstrom, Ylva (2010) revealed the history of Right to Education with its use and how to implement in the living situations. The studies conducted by Gamede and Thobekile (2005), Anderson K. (2008), and Senganda,Jaffer (2008) depicted the results about access of Education, which is not fully achieved in the different nations. Quinio F., Penh P. (2005) concluded low awareness among the Government and Non Government Organisations about Right to Education. Medvedeva A. (2007) revealed that the awareness of students about certain legal provisions in Right to Education is rather low. Unterhalter E. and Aikman S. (2005), in their research, denying Kenyan girls their right to education, revealed that, a number of Kenyan girls were deprived from their educational Right. Garg M. and Srilata (2009) revealed a non significant difference among the Rural and Urban adolescent Girls over Right to Education Awareness, as one of the results of it. Rahman A. (2010) disclosed that, just nine months after the Right to Education (RTE) Act was implemented in India, over 10,000 cases of violation have been registered by Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).The violations of at least 15 kinds, like screening tests before admissions, corporal punishment, admission denial, mental harassment, school leaving certificates disputes and others. The reporter also includes the statement of Amodh Kanth, Chairman of DCPCR, that the main reason for these violations is lack of awareness among teachers, school authorities and parents alike. Sharma S. (2011) did a survey of several authorized and unauthorized colonies in Chandigarh city, which has the third highest literacy rate and revealed that parents are ignorant of right to Education. The survey also revealed that the majority of people of these colonies had never heard the word right before. Niranjanaradhya and Jha (2013) in their study Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education ACT Miles to Go found that the Right to Education law is constantly being violated. The findings revealed that physical infrastructure with cleanliness is lacking in the schools. No stress was laid on physical and other classroom activities in the schools, leaving Quality concerns of education behind. There is a huge difference in what has been written on paper and its implementation at the grass-root level. Ojha (2013) conducted her study on Implementing Right to Education: Issues and challenges. The investigator observed that there has been some progress only in terms of enrolment/basic infrastructure but towards guaranteeing quality education in terms of student learning there has not achieved much. The various stakeholders are somewhat aware about Right to Education but they are far away from the understanding level and quality concerns and benefits of it. Kumar T.P. (2014) conducted a study on Right to Education act Among School teachers with Respect to Few Selected Background Variables. The results revealed that there is a significant difference of right to education act between male and female teachers. There was a significant difference of right to education act between married and unmarried teachers. Significant difference was 56

3 also found in right to education act between junior and senior teachers. Male Teachers, Senior Teachers and Married Teachers tend more towards RTE act as compared to Female Teachers, Junior Teachers and Unmarried teachers. Hypotheses There exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. A significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in rural areas of district Sangrur. A significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in urban areas of district Sangrur. There exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate males residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. There exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate females residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. A significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. Significance of the problem Right to Education was the latest right included in our fundamental rights, given by the Indian constitution. The research is very significant, because in our country the people may be not aware about education as a fundamental right as t was introduced only after April From the parental and teacher point of view it was very significant to find the awareness level among the graduate adults in relation to right to education. Further, the study was also intended to find the difference in right to education awareness with respect to gender and their residential area. Methodology Descriptive method was used in the present study. Data was collected through survey method. A sample of 200 persons was taken randomly, comprising of 100 rural and 100 urban graduate adults. From each rural and urban area the sample was further bifurcated into 50 male and 50 female adults. The research problem was conducted on the graduate adults of district Sangrur. The investigator has used the self made questionnaire on the Right to Education Awareness for the present study. Reliability of the questionnaire was found out by applying Test-retest method. The correlation between the two tests was which depict the questionnaire a highly consistent. The validity of questionnaire was checked with the help of experts view. After taking the opinion of the experts, the questionnaire with 32 items was applied on the respondents to carry out the research process. The questionnaire was constructed in Multiple Choice form. The range of scores of this Questionnaire is from In order to find out the significant difference in awareness among adults with regards to various factors like gender and residential area, t-test was used. Interpretation of Results Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults residing in Urban and Rural areas of district Sangrur Table 1.1: Scores distribution of Right to Education Awareness in graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Urban Rural Class Interval Total Mean (Urban adults)=11.57; Mean (Rural adults)=11.43; t-ratio = (p<0.05) 57

4 It may be observed from the Table 1.1 that there are 41% of graduate adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur, who scored in the range of 9-12 scores having the mean value of On the other hand 38% of graduate adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur have scored in the range of 9-12, having mean value of The midpoint from the ideal value (32) is 16 and the mean scores (11.57 and 11.43) of both urban and rural graduate adults fall below the score of 16, which is unsatisfactory, so the awareness regarding Right to Education in urban and rural adults of district Sangrur is low. The obtained t-ratio (0.249 which is not significant at 0.05 levels) depicted that there is no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. Therefore the hypothesis, there exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur was accepted. Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur Table 1.2: Scores Distribution of Right to Education Awareness in graduate male and female adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur Class Interval Rural males Rural females Total Mean (Rural males) = 11.86; Mean (Rural Females) = 11.00; t-ratio = (p<0.05) Table 1.2 depicts that there are 38% of both male and female graduate adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur, who have scored in the range of 9-12 scores. The mean value of rural graduate males of district Sangrur is and that of females is The mean values of males and females adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur are and respectively, both of which falls below the midpoint from the ideal value which is 16 and is unsatisfactory. So, the Right to Education Awareness in male and female adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur is low. The obtained t-ratio (1.106, which is not significant at 0.05 levels) didn t show any difference in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur. So the hypothesis, a significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in rural areas of district Sangrur was rejected. Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur Table 1.3: Scores distribution of Right to Education Awareness in graduate male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur Class Interval Urban Males Urban Females Total Mean (Urban Males) = 11.98; Mean (Urban Females) = 11.16; t-ratio = (p<0.05) It may be observed from the Table 1.3 that 46% of male graduate adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur have scored in the range of 9-12, having mean value of On the other hand 36% of female graduate 58

5 adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur have scored in the range of 9-12 scores with, mean value of The obtained mean scores (11.98 and 11.16) for both male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur are less than the midpoint value 16, from the ideal value, which is unsatisfactory. So, the Right to Education Awareness in male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur is low. The difference revealed by the t-ratio (1.011, which is not significant at 0.05 level) in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur was not significant. So the hypothesis, a significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate males and females residing in urban areas was rejected. Right to Education Awareness among graduate male adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Table 1.4: Scores Distribution of Right to Education Awareness in graduate male adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Class Interval Urban Males Rural males Total Mean (Urban Males) = 11.98; Mean (Rural Males) = 11.86; t-ratio =0.142 (p<0.05) Table 1.4 depicts that 46% of graduate male adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur have scored in the range of 9-12 scores, with the mean value of and on the other side 38% of graduate male adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur scored in the range of 9-12, having mean value of The midpoint from the ideal value is 16 and the mean of both urban and rural male adults (11.98 and 11.86) falls below the score of 16, which is unsatisfactory, so the awareness regarding Right to Education in urban and rural male adults of district Sangrur is low. The t-ratio (0.142, which is not significant at 0.05 levels) depicted that there is no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate male adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. Therefore the hypothesis, there exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate male adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur was accepted. Right to Education Awareness among graduate female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Table 1.5: Scores distribution of Right to Education Awareness in graduate female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Class Interval Urban Females Rural Females Total Mean (Urban Females) = 11.16; Mean (Rural Females) = 11.00; t-ratio =0.214(p<0.05) 59

6 Table 1.5 depicts that 36% of female graduate adults residing in urban and 38% of female graduate adults residing in rural areas have scored in the range of 9-12, with mean value of and respectively. The midpoint from the ideal value is 16 and the mean scores and of female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur respectively, falls below the score of 16, which is unsatisfactory. So, the Right to Education Awareness in female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur is low. The t-ratio (0.214, which is not significant at 0.05 levels) didn t show any noteworthy difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate females residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. So the hypothesis, there exists no significant difference in Right to Education Awareness among graduate females residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur was accepted. Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Table 1.6: Distribution of scores of Right to Education Awareness among graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur Class Interval Males (Urban and Rural) Females (Urban and Rural) Total Mean (Males) =11.92; Mean (Females) = 11.08; t-ratio =1.462 (p<0.05) It may be observed from the table 1.6, that there are 42% of male graduate adults residing in both urban and rural areas of district Sangrur have scored in the range of 9-12 scores, with the mean value of On the contrary 37% of graduate female adults have scored in the range of 9-12, having mean value of The midpoint from the ideal value is 16 and the mean scores (11.92 and 11.08) of both males and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur falls below the score of 16, which is unsatisfactory. So, the Right to Education Awareness in graduate male and females of district Sangrur is low. The difference revealed by the t-ratio (1.462, which is not significant at 0.05 level) in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur was not significant. Therefore the hypothesis, a significant difference may exist in Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur was rejected. Discussion of Results The divulgence of results revealed that the awareness regarding Right to Education is also low. Moreover no significant difference was revealed among graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. Ojha (2013) found that the various stakeholders are somewhat aware about RTE but they are far away from the understanding level and quality concerns and benefits of RTE. A study conducted by Sharma (2011) in Chandigarh also supports the present results. The survey revealed that parents (urban adults) in authorized and unauthorized Economic Weaker Section colonies of Chandigarh city, which has the third highest literacy rate, are ignorant of right to Education. The survey also revealed that the majority of people of these Economically Weaker Section colonies had never heard the word right before. The other research conducted by Rahman (2010) also favours the low awareness among urban graduates, in which it was disclosed that just nine months after the Right to Education (RTE) Act was implemented in India; over 10,000 cases of violation have been registered by Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). The information quoted in the report, given by Amod Kanth, the chairman of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), revealed that the main reason for these violations is lack of awareness among teachers, school authorities and parents alike. Later he stressed on awareness programmes, which they are conducting for teachers and others on the RTE Act. The same kind of results was also found in 60

7 Russia, by Medvedeva (2007) in his research, Human Rights Awareness of University Students: The Case of the Right to Education in Russia. The study depicted that the awareness of students about certain legal provisions was low. Only some of the norms related to the right to education are known to the students. Students from small towns have less awareness of the content of reforms that take place in the country. Considering Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in rural areas of district Sangrur, the results disclosed no significant difference. Addition to this, Right to Education Awareness in male and female adults residing in rural areas is low. The researcher considers various reasons, from which anyone or may be all are responsible for the obtained results. The reasons may be the low literacy rate among rural adults, (68.88%, of district Sangrur, according to 2011 census) or less prone to media, or low mobilization of rural people. The rural males showed a slightly high awareness as compared to females. This may be due to the more exposure of rural male adults to the other people, mass media, and more liberty as compared to females. Concerning Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban areas of district Sangrur, no significant difference was shown by the acquired results. The study of Sharma (2011) favours the results, as the survey showed parents (both male and females) were ignorant of Right to Education in several authorized and unauthorized Economically Weaker Section colonies in Chandigarh city, which has the third highest literacy rate. The results also depicted low Awareness regarding Right to Education in male and female adults residing in urban areas. The main reason for the obtained results in the literate urban areas may be the fast hurried life with a stress and where a common man has no time for himself and his children with their rights. The disclosure of results about Right to Education Awareness among graduate male adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur showed no significant difference. One of the reasons for the obtained result is our education system, which is common for all, whether he is from any residential area. The other reason may be assumed as the location of graduation colleges, markets and other facilities required by a common man, most of which are found in cities, which assist the mobilization of rural adults to the cities and lessens the awareness difference. This mobilization also provide an exposure to the modern facilities like internet, media etc. The awareness regarding Right to Education in urban and rural male adults is low. Considering Right to Education Awareness among graduate females residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur the difference was not significant. A comparative study on, Women's Rights Awareness of Urban and Rural Adolescent Girls of Uttar Pradesh conducted by Garg and Srilata (2008) also favored the results. The difference of knowledge regarding right to education, and directive principles that concern women workers was found to be not significant among rural and urban adolescent girls. The results also showed low awareness regarding Right to Education in female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur. The reasons for the obtained results may be low literacy rate of female adults (62.50% in Sangrur according to 2011 census), less exposure to the issue of Right to Education, low mobilization and interaction or less individual interest. Regarding Right to Education Awareness between graduate male and female adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur no significant difference was found. Besides this the mean scores depicted that the males residing in rural and urban areas have a little more awareness about Education as a right, as compared to the females. This slight high awareness in males is supported by the results of Kumar T.P. (2014). The investigator assumes that the above result has been obtained due to the higher literacy rate among males (74.20% in Sangrur according to 2011) than females (62.50% in Sangrur according to 2011), higher exposure of male adults to the people, media, internet, society etc. Moreover the Right to Education Awareness in male and female adults is low. Conclusions From the above discussion, it may be summed up, that the Right to Education Awareness in the graduate adults residing in urban and rural areas of district Sangrur is low. No significant difference in Right to Education Awareness was obtained among graduate adults on the bases of gender and their residential area. Besides this the issue of Right to Education Awareness is not confined to district Sangrur, the state of Punjab or our country India only. Rather it is a worldwide issue. The researches revealed that, not only the individuals of developing countries like India (Garg and Srilata 2009; Rahman: 2010; Sharma: 2011), Kenya (Unterhalter and Aikman: 2005), South Africa (Senganda and Jaffer: 2008) has low awareness regarding to Right to Education, but the individuals from developed countries like England (Anderson et al: 2008), Russia (Medvedeva: 2007) also showed some sort of low awareness. Educational Implications Results of the present study have shown that the various objectives of Right to Education are not fulfilled yet. The findings of the study indicate that the graduate adults of district Sangrur having low awareness level concerning 61

8 to the Right to Education. Therefore it may be suggested that the aware people as teachers and other educated people must have work for creating awareness about Right to education. Awareness programmes should be there, so that adults for themselves and for their children can assure the proper implementation of Right to Education. Amod Kanth, the chairman of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) also stressed on awareness programmes, which they are conducting for teachers and others, on the Right to Education Act. The existing schemes like Education Guarantee Scheme, for the migrant children, nomadic children, children of isolated groups should effectively work for the proper implementation of Right to education. The various bodies which are related with the Education system like Village Education Development Committee, Parent Teacher Association, Mother Help Group etc. can also contribute towards the Right to Education Awareness programmes. The other provisions like Lectures, Seminars, Club meetings, Adult Education Programme etc. may also serve as a boon for awaking the masses about Right to Education. References Alston P. and Bhutia N. (2005), Human Rights and Public Goods: Education as a Fundamental Right in India, Anderson K. et al. (2008), Implementing the right to education in England, Indian Journal Social Science Researches, Vol. 6, No. 1, March, 2009, pp Bergstrom, Ylva, (2010), The Universal Right to Education: Freedom, Equality and "Fraternity", Studies in Philosophy and Education, vol.29 number 2, pp Coomans F., (2007), Identifying the Key Elements of the Right to Education: A Focus on Its Core Content, Gamede, Thobekile,(2005), The biography of "access" as an expression of human rights in South African education policies, Garg M., Srilata (2008), Women's Rights Awareness of Urban and Rural Adolescent Girls of Uttar Pradesh: A Comparative Study, Indian Journal Social Science Researches, Vol. 6, No. 1, March, 2009, pp Gole S.S. (2012, Mar 1) Panel suggests new guidelines for teachers timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/panelsuggests-new-guidelines-for-teachers/articleshow Kumar T. Pradeep. (2014) A Study of Right to Education act Among School teachers with Respect to Few Selected Background Variables, Indian Journal Of Applied Research, 4 (2), Mahapatra D. (2012, April 13) SC upholds constitutional validity of right to education, Times of India, Medvedeva A., (2007), Human Rights Awareness of University Students: The Case of the Right to Education in Russia, Niranjanaradhya and Jha (2013) Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education ACT Miles to Go, A case study of Bannikuppe Gram Panchayat, Ramanagar District, Karnataka, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore Ojha Seema S. (2013) Implementing Right to Education: Issues and challenges International Science Congress Association, Research Journal of Educational Sciences,1(2), 1-7 Press Information Bureau (2009), The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 notified, 62

9 Quinio F., Penh P. (2005), Final Report of the National Consultative Meeting on Rights-based Education in Cambodia, Rahman A. (2010) Right to Education in Delhi being violated, Senganda, Jaffer (2008), The right to education of the mentally retarded children: a comparative study of Nakawa Division Kampala and Kalamba Sub-County, Mpigi District, Sharma S. (2010) RTE: Admn needs to look within, Chandigarh Tribune, Thursday, December 30, 2010, pp 3 Sharma S. (2011) RTE ACT: UT Admn Falters on Groundwork, Chandigarh Tribune, Sunday, February13, 2011, pp 2 Shrangi V. (2012, Mar 5) Focus on RTE, The Times of India, Online Edition, Sripati, V. and Thiruvengadam A. K. (2004), India: Constitutional amendment making the right to education a Fundamental Right, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Oxford Journals, Volume 2, pp Tandon A. (2012, April 13) RTE Act applies to all govt, private schools, rules SC, The Tribune, P.1 Teja C. S. (2012, February 24) Most pvt schools flout RTE norms 400 out of 1,064 schools apply for mandatory recognition under the Act, Ludhina Tribune Online Edition, Unterhalter E. and Aikman S. (2005), Denying Kenyan girls their right to education, Vally S. and Ramadiro B. (2006), Children's Right to Basic Education, Education Rights Project, 63