RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT-2009

RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT-2009

             A number of efforts have been initiated recently to make elementary education a fundamental right for children of India. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education to all children the age group of six to fourteen as a fundamental Right. The Right of Children to free and compulsory Education (RTA) Act, 2009, Which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education 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. This was a historic day for the people of India as from this day the right to education will be accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6-14 years appropriate classroom in the vicinity of his place of residence .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 or free or charges    or expenses which may prevent  him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.

       History of RTE Act    

               The Right to Education legislation has a long and chequered history, having been subjected to numerous round heated debate and philosophical alteration. In 1950, India made a constitutional commitment to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14, by adding this provision in article 45 of the Directive principles of State Policy.

             RTE act as was brought into existence in the period following the passage of the 86^th constitutional amendment in 2002, which declared Education a fundamental right of all children in the age-group of 6-14.

             Followed by the 86^th constitutional amendment, Participatory process of inviting comments from member of the public yielded several different drafts of right to education bill in the subsequent years until finally, in 2008, the Union Cabinet stamped its seal of approval on it and it was placed before the Rajya sabha which passed it in July 2009. The bill then proceeded to   the Lok sabha, where it was passed in August 2009.

           

            The right to education was discussed extensively during the drafting of the constitution. The constituent subcommittee of fundamental Rights included the right to primary education as a fundamental right. However the Advisory committee of the constituent assembly rejected the proposal and placed in the category of non-justifiable fundamental rights (later known as Directive principles of state Policy). The first official recommendation for the inclusion of a fundamental right to education was made in 1990 by the Acharya Ramamurti committee. Thereafter, several political as well as policy level changes influenced the course of free and compulsory education. The country witnessed an increased international focus on its initiative regarding free and compulsory education after its participation in the World conference on Education for All in 1990. India also ratified the United Nations Convention on Right of the child in 1992.

             In 2002, the 86^th amendment to the constitution introduced Article 21-A making the right to The 86^th Constitutional Amendment. With the 86^th constitutional amendment, for the first time since the farming of constitution, was a fundamental right added to the constitution of India. Befittingly, for India, with the largest number of illiterates in the world, the first addition to the fundamental right list relates to education. Subsequent to the amendment, the following article shall be inserted to the article 21 of the constitution namely;

            21A.The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine.

           Article 45 will not as was being considered earlier be deleted instead the content of article 45 of the constitution is being substituted by

           “The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years”

              The pre amended content of article 45 was “The state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of their constitution for free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of fourteen’’

           In article 51A of the constitution, after clause [J], the following clause shall be added,

“Who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case

Maybe, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.”

    Unlike other fundamental rights the right to education required an enabling legislation to

 Effective.The RTE Act is this enabling legislation.The RTE Act came into force on April 1, 2010.

B.Major provisions of the act

      The act provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years.`Comoulsory 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 groups.With this ,India has moved forward to arights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the central and state Governments to implement this fundamental child right as envisaged by the Article 21A of the constitution ,in accordance with the provisions of the RTE act.

1.     Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.

2.     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.

3.     It makes provisions for a non –admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.

4.     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.

5.     It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to pupil Teacher Rations (PTRS), buildings and infrastructure,school-working days,teacher-working hours.

6.     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 decentnial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.

7.     It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers,i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.

8.     It prohibits (a)physical punishment and mental harassment;(b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c)capitation fee; (d) private tution by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition.

9.     It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the constitution ,and which would ensure the alround development of the child,building on the chid’s knowledge ,potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear ,traumaand anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centered learning.

                      On 12 April 2012,in its historical decision the Supreme court of India threw its weight behind the right of children to free and compulsory Education act 2009. The court upheld the constitutional validity of RTE act that guarantees children free and compulsory  education from the age of 6 to 14 years of age.The judgement makes it mandatory for the government ,local authorities and private schools to  reserve 25%of their seats for ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ of society.The decision has wiped away many apprehensions regarding the future of the Act.It has been welcomed by academicians ,politicians,journalists and others.

JISHA MOL

NATURAL SCIENE