“THE ENFORCEABLE NATURE OF THE 2009 RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT AND THE GUARANTEE OF FREE EDUCATION TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF CHILDREN IN INDIA”

Abstract

The debate on the right to education was initiated in India by Mahatma JotiroaPhule more than 125 years ago when a substantial part of the memorandum presented by him to the Indian Education Commission in 1882.[1] At the National education conference held at Wardha (Maharashtra) in 1937, Mahatma Ghandhi had to use all the moral powers at his command to persuade the misters of Education of the newly elected Congress governments of seven Indian provinces to give priority to Basic Education.[2]After the independence of India, a new constitution was drafted and article 45 of this constitution stated that the State shall endeavor to provide free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of fourteen years within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution.[3]On its side, the 86th Amendment Act of 2000 via its article 21A (Part III) seeks to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the age group 6-14 years.[4]. In October, 2003 a first draft of the legislation on Free and Compulsory Education was made by the Indian parliament under the Children’s Bill of 2003 and this drafted work was put on the website in order to invite comments and suggestions from the public at large.[5] The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act came into force from April 1, 2010.[6] This was a historic day for the people of India, because from that day the Right to education will be accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by Article 21(A) of the Indian Constitution. According to this Right to Education Act, every child in the age group of 6-14 years will be provided 8 years of elementary education in an age appropriate classroom in the vicinity of his/her neighborhood. For the first time in the history of India it is made a right enforceable by pitting in article 21 of Chapter 3 of the Indian Constitution.[7]

[1]Anil Sadgopal [2010] Right to Education vs. Right to Education Act, Social Scientist Journal Article, Vol. 38, No. 9/12 (September-December 2010), pp. 19 (34 pages), Published By: Social Scientist. Available Online at https://www.jstor.org/stable/27896288

[2]Opcit; Anil Sadgopal [2010] Right to Education vs. Right to Education Act

[3]SrikantaMandal and Pranab Barman [2014] Attitude of Headmasters and Teachers towards the Right to Education Act (2009), India, IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), Volume 19, Issue 11, pp. 45 Ver. VII (Nov. 2014), Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, India.

[4] Ibid; SrikantaMandal and Pranab Barman [2014], pp. 47

[5]Opcit; SrikantaMandal and Pranab Barman [2014], pp. 47

[6] Ibid; pp. 48

[7]Article 21 of Chapter 3 of the Indian Constitution