Right to Education Act, 2009

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, commonly referred to as the Right to Education Act or RTE Act, is an Act of the Parliament of India that provides for free and compulsory education to children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. It gives effect to Article 21A of the Constitution of India, which makes elementary education a fundamental right. The Act came into force on 1 April 2010.

Key Facts

Short title	Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
Enacted by	Parliament of India
Year of enactment	2009
Date of commencement	1 April 2010
Age group covered	6 to 14 years
Constitutional basis	Article 21A
Concerned ministry	Ministry of Education, Government of India
Type of right	Fundamental Right

Background

The idea of free and compulsory education in India predates the Constitution. The original Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy directed the State to endeavour to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14. Over the decades, this directive principle was the basis of various policies and schemes, but elementary education remained a non-justiciable goal rather than an enforceable right.

The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21A into the Constitution, making free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 a fundamental right, to be provided "in such manner as the State may, by law, determine." The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is the enabling legislation that gives concrete shape to this constitutional mandate.

Main Provisions

Every child between the ages of 6 and 14 has the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school until the completion of elementary education.
No child is liable to pay any kind of fee, charges or expenses that may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
Children who have not been admitted to school, or who have dropped out, are to be admitted to a class appropriate to their age, with provision for special training to enable them to keep up.
Private unaided schools are required to reserve a share of seats at the entry level for children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and to provide them free education.
The Act prohibits screening procedures for admission, capitation fees, physical punishment and mental harassment, private tuition by teachers, and running of schools without recognition.
It lays down norms and standards relating to pupil-teacher ratios, school infrastructure, working days, and instructional hours.
It prohibits the holding back of a child in any class or expulsion from school until the completion of elementary education, and earlier prohibited a board examination at the elementary stage.
It mandates the appointment of appropriately trained teachers and recognises the National Council for Teacher Education for laying down teacher qualifications.
It assigns duties to the appropriate Government, local authorities and parents in ensuring admission, attendance and completion of elementary education.

Implementation

The Act is implemented primarily by State Governments and Union Territory administrations, with the Central Government providing financial and technical support. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the flagship programme for universalisation of elementary education, became the principal vehicle for implementing the RTE Act. It was later subsumed into the integrated scheme Samagra Shiksha, which covers school education from pre-primary to higher secondary level.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and corresponding State Commissions have been entrusted with monitoring the implementation of the Act and inquiring into complaints relating to the rights of children under it.

Amendments

The Act has been amended on more than one occasion. A notable amendment relates to the provisions on detention and examination at the elementary stage, which permitted States to hold a regular examination at certain classes and to detain a child who fails, subject to additional instruction and a re-examination. Other amendments have related to teacher qualification timelines.

Significance

The Right to Education Act is regarded as a landmark piece of social legislation in India because it transformed elementary education from a directive principle into a justiciable fundamental right. It places statutory obligations on the State and on schools to ensure inclusion, access, and minimum quality standards. The Act has also been significant for its provisions encouraging social inclusion in private schools and for setting infrastructural and pedagogical norms for elementary schools across the country.

At the same time, the Act has been the subject of considerable debate concerning issues such as learning outcomes, teacher availability and training, infrastructure compliance, financial implications for unaided schools, and the recognition requirements for small and minority-run institutions. The Supreme Court of India has examined several of these aspects, including the applicability of the Act to different categories of schools.

References

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, Government of India.
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, Government of India.
Ministry of Education, Government of India — official publications on elementary education.

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