Right
to Education
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act,
2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and
compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years
as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. It
means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of
satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain
essential norms and standards.
Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect
on 1 April 2010. The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and
compulsory’. ‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has
been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the
appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or
expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary
education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate
Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance
and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group.
With this, India has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a
legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental
child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance
with the provisions of the RTE Act.
·
Right of children to free and compulsory education till
completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.
·
It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the
appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure
compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to
every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no child shall
be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him
or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
·
It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to
an age appropriate class.
·
It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate
Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory
education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the
Central and State Governments.
·
It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to
Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days,
teacher-working hours.
·
It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that
the specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than
just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there
is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for
prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than
decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and
parliament, and disaster relief.
·
It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers,
i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.
·
It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b)
screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private
tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition,
·
It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the
values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round
development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and
talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system
of child friendly and child centred learning.
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