HRD minister Kapil Sibal proposed to extend the Right to Education up to the secondary (class 10) level in the 58th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) here on Tuesday.

While addressing the CABE, the oldest advisory body on education, Sibal said the right of a child to 10 years of free and compulsory education needs to be carried forward by the central and state governments in the decade ahead. Already, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, promising free education at the secondary level, is in place.

A CABE committee has been constituted to prepare a legislative draft in three months time on nature of legislation. The committee will have state education ministers, members of civil society and educationists. Once the draft is prepared it will be open to discussion with all stake holders like teachers, students and members of civil society.

The minister also stressed the need to ensure quality in educational delivery towards bringing down drop-out rates.

To integrate vocational education and skill development, Sibal said it was essential to develop a set of nationally recognised qualifications tailoring the qualifications to the requirements of industry.

The National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) proposed in the agenda aims to embed vocational education in the educational system providing for horizontal and vertical mobility for youth to seamlessly move from general to vocational education.

The minister also informed that the centre is proposing a legislation to prevent and prohibit adoption of malpractices in school education (essentially to prevent the rule of money power in this sector) for which he sought suggestions and views from the state governments. He said that this legislation could be modeled on the lines a similar legislation on prevention of unfair practices in higher education already introduced in the parliament.

The minister underlined the role of state governments in preparing this framework. He also said an element of diversity must be built into the education system to enable mobility.