Right to Education
The Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India, as a fundamental right to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years to free and Provides for compulsory education. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents consequential legislation under section 21A, means that satisfactory attendance in a formal school, which fulfills certain mandatory norms and standards and full-time elementary education of uniform qualityEvery child has the right toArticle 21-A and the RTE Act came into force on 1st April, 2010. The title of the RTE Act contains the words “free and compulsory”. ‘free education’ means that a child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents in a school not supported by the appropriate Government, shall not be entitled to any fee or charge or expenditure of any kind for the purpose of providing elementary education; Not liable to pay preventing him from continuing and completingWill happen.
This has led India to a rights-based framework which places a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental right of the child as enshrined in Article 21-A of the Constitution in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.
The RTE Act provides for the following:
- Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighborhood school.
- Clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means the obligation of the appropriate Government to provide free of charge elementary education to every child in the age group of six to fourteen and to ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education. ‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay fees or charges or expenses that prevent him from pursuing and completing elementary education.
- It provides for a non-admission child to be admitted in the appropriate age group.
- It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate governments, local authority and parents and the financial and other responsibilities between the central and state governments in providing free and compulsory education.
- It lays down, inter alia, norms and standards relating to Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR), buildings and infrastructure, school working days, teacher working hours.
- It provides for deployment of teachers by ensuring specific student-teacher ratios to be maintained for each school, rather than just an average for the state or district or block, thus correcting any urban-rural imbalance in teacher deployment. Ensures. It also prohibits the deployment of teachers for non-academic work except for the decennial census, elections to local authorities, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
- It provides for appointment of suitably trained teachers i.e. teachers with requisite entry and educational qualifications.
- It is (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) monitoring procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition is prohibited.
- It provides for the development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution and which is conducive to the all-round development of the child, to nurture the child’s knowledge, potential and talent and to avoid fear, injury and harm to the child through a child-friendly approach and a child-centred learning approach. To be free from worrywill ensure