Essays

The Right to Education is a fundamental right and is accorded the same legal status as the right to life as provided by Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is "An act to provide for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years."

The right of children to free and compulsory education came into force from April 1, 2010. According to the 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.

According to the act, any cost that prevents a child from accessing school will be borne by the state which shall have the responsibility of enrolling the child as well as ensuring completion of 8 years of schooling. No child shall be denied admission for want of documents; or shall be turned away if the admission cycle in the school is over and no child shall be asked to take an admission test. Section 2(o) along with Section 13(2) (b) prohibits any of these screening procedures and calls for only random procedures to be used for admitting a child to school. This prohibition would apply to all schools, private or even Navodaya schools. The act restricts schools to claim special category status because it indulges in screening procedures at the elementary level. Moreover .if the number of children applying to a school exceeds the available seats, an open lottery system shall be used to fill the seats. This applies to all categories of schools.

Children with disabilities will also be educated in the mainstream schools. Section (10) of the Act makes it the duty of the parents to ensure that their children go to schools, without prescribing any punishment. Special provisions are laid for children not admitted to or who have not completed elementary education; a child so admitted to elementary education will be entitled to completion of elementary education even after fourteen years.

However, the implementation of the act will be arduous one as the promise to ensure education for all children between 6 and 14, would mean educating a whopping 22 crore children, out of which nearly 1.1 crore are out of school. For child labour and street children, the government would have to ensure that they are not compelled to work and provide schools for them, along with residential facilities to provide them with an appropriate environment to enable them to continue their education. This means parents and communities who traditionally forbid their adolescent girls from going to school, or indulge in child marriage would have to be persuaded, or the child marriages act would need to be invoked against them.

On the basis of the Art, no school, governmental or private, can detain, fail or expel any child at the elementary stage. On April 7, 2010, the Delhi High Court gave a verdict against St. Xavier's School, Delhi, which had to take back all the children they had declared failed and expelled from the school.

Moreover, all private schools shall be required to enroll children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities in their class to the extent of 25% of their enrolment, by simple random selection. While no seats in this quota can be left vacant, these children will be treated on par with all the other children in the school and would be subsidized by the state at the rate of average per learner costs in the government schools.

The Act also prescribes norms and standards for all schools and any school that does not fulfill these standards within 3 years will not be allowed to function. All private schools will have to apply for recognition, failing which they will be penalized up to $1 lakh and if they still continue to function, they will be liable to pay $10,000 per day as fine.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been mandated to monitor the implementation of this right. As per Model Rule 25, The Statel Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) shall set up child helplines, accessible by SMS, telephone and letter for receiving and registering complaints. NCPCR also welcomes the formal notification of this Act and looks forward to playing an active role in ensuring its successful implementation.

NCPCR is also expected to carry forward its initiatives of linking and networking with civil society organizations for monitoring, appointing state commissioners for the enforcement of the Act, networking with other Commissions like Human Rights, Women and Minorities, to set up helplines and set up a separate division for enforcing the Right to Education.

It is important for the country to nurture their children and young talent with the right education, so that India emerges as a strong and prosperous country.