THE EDUCATION TRIBUNAL BILL, 2010 : A very Pragmatic approach in the field of Education
By : Roopa Vijaywargiya*
THE EDUCATIONAL TRIBUNALS BILL, 2010 is one of the landmarks in the field of Education. It is A BILL to provide for the establishment of Educational Tribunals for effective and expeditious adjudication of disputes involving teachers and other employees of higher educational institutions and other stake holders (including students, universities, institutions and statutory regulatory authorities) and to adjudicate penalties for indulging in unfair practices in higher education and for matters connected therewith. This billis introduced to reform thehigher education sector in the country.Presently, disputes between educational institutions and students or staff are adjudicated by internal dispute redressal mechanisms. Most universities have set up such a mechanism. Some states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand have enacted laws to set up tribunals for adjudicating teacher-management disputes. These tribunals generally have appellate jurisdiction. From the tribunals, cases can be appealed in the High Courts and Supreme Court.
The idea of setting up educationaltribunals to adjudicate education related disputes was first mooted by the National Policy on Education, 1986. The Law Commission of India’s 123rd Report in 1988 made a detailed study and concluded that a three-tier structure of tribunals is necessary to effectively handle disputes in the education sector. The Supreme Court in the 2002 T.M.A. Pai judgment and the Yash Pal Committee Report of 2009 also recommended setting up educational tribunals.
The Bill seeks to set up EducationalTribunals at the Nationaland State level to adjudicate disputes involving teachers and otheremployees of higher educationalinstitutions and otherstakeholders such as Students, Universities and Statutory Regulatory Authorities.
Also in this billthestate tribunals shalladjudicate cases related to service matters ofteachers and other employees of highereducationalinstitution; disputeover affiliationof ahigher educationalinstitution with an affiliating university and unfair practices of a higher educational institution prohibited by any law.
And the National Tribunal shall adjudicate cases of dispute between higher educationalinstitutions and statutory authorities;higher educational institution and affiliating University (in case of centralUniversities), and any reference made to it by an appropriate statutory authority. It shall have appellate jurisdiction on orders of the State Tribunals.
In this bill an order of the tribunalshall be treated as decree of a civil court. If orders of the National or State Tribunal are not complied with,the person shallbe liable to imprisonment fora maximum of three years or with fine of upto Rs 10 lakh or with both.
The Education is derived from educare (Latin) “bring up”, which is related to educere “bring out”, “bring forth what is within”, “bring out potential” and ducere, “to lead”. In our Country Education is very important not only from today but from the older times. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution providefor education as a fundamental right.
According to some Research India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and the United States.The main governingbody at the tertiary levelis the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the Government, and helps coordinate between the Centre and the State.Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission.
As of 2009, India has 20 central Universities, 215 state Universities, 100deemed Universities,5 institutions established and functioning under theState Act,and 13institutes which are ofNational Importance.Other institutions include 16000 colleges, including 1800 exclusive women’s colleges, functioning under these Universities and Institutions.The emphasis in the tertiary levelofeducation lies on scienceand technology. Indian educational institutions by 2004consisted of a large number of technology institutes. Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system.
Some institutions ofIndia, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), havebeen globally acclaimed for their standard of undergraduate education in engineering .TheIITs enrollabout 8000students annually and the alumnihave contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the publicsectors ofIndia.However IITs barely has any contribution in fundamemtal scientific research and innovation. Some Institute of Basic research like Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science(IACS), Indian Institute of Science IISC), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TFIR) has acclaimed for their standard of research in basic science.
Besides top rated Universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupil, India is also home to many Universities which havebeen founded with thesole objectiveof makingeasy money. Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very hard to extirpate the menaceof private Universities which are running courses without any affiliation or recognition. Students from rural and semiurban background often fallvictim to these Institutes and Colleges.
Three Indian Universities were listed in theTimes HigherEducation list of the world’s top 200 Universities – Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2005and 2006.Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science – Pilaniwerelisted amongthe top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek.The Indian School of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number12 in globalMBA rankings by the FinancialTimes of London in 2010while theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a globalleader in medical research and treatment.
So the entranceof this new billwithin ourEducation sectorwilldefinitely bring the revolution in ourwhole system.
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