Constitution of India

Introduction

• Education is an extremely important weapon to boost the self-development as well as development of a nation.
• It empowers the freedom of individuals and fosters awareness.
• It enlightens the concept of equality among all and social justice.
• The Right to Education is enshrined in Article 21A of the Constitution of India.
• The Article was adjoined to the Constitution by 86th amendment act in year 2002.
• The government marked this step as “The dawn of the second revolution in the chapter of citizens' rights”.

Historical Overview

• Right to Education was enshrined in Article 45 and 39 (f) of the Constitution.
• In 1955-56, the Government gave importance to the concept of education by spending more than 1% of the GDP on education.
• The total number of students decreased from 42 million till 2002 to 13 million in 2005.
• The campaign named Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was launched by the government in the year 2000.
• 2% of revenue generated through central tax was dedicated towards education.
• The gradual steps led the stepping-stone for 86th amendment of Constitution of India.
• Article 45 in the Constitution directed the state to provide free and compulsory education to children until they reach 14 years, within ten years.
• Also, Article 39(f) before the 42nd amendment stated that “childhood and youth are protected or guarded against exploitation or manipulation and against moral and material abandonment”.

Position in the Constitution

• The Ramamurthi Committee Report in 1990 was the first to develop the tussle for the right to education.
• In Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992), Supreme Court ruled that even though the right to education is not distinctly mentioned in the Constitution, it can be deciphered through the Preamble and a bare reading of DPSP in Part IV.
• The Supreme Court in 1993 in the case of Unnikrishanan v. State of Andhra Pradesh opined the necessity of the right to education as a fundamental right. Although, the court denied the opinion in the Mohini Jain case that RTE can be demanded at all levels. It stated that one cannot avail the right to education provided by the constitutional levels.
• In the year 1999, the Tapas Majumdar Committee was formulated to insert Article 21A into the Constitution.

86^th Constitutional Amendment

• It came in the year 2002.
• Free and compulsory education for children between the age group of 6 to 14 years was the keynote of this amendment.
• The amendment added three provisions to satisfy the above-mentioned goal.
• Article 21A states “the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 6 and 14 through a law that it may determine.”
• Modified version of Article 45 states that, “State shall work to ensure early childhood care and free and mandatory education for all children up to the age of six”
• Article 51A(k) made it the duty of parents and guardians to ensure the education of their children aged between 6 to 14 years.

Series of Events

• The first step was the incorporation of Article 45 in the DPSP in the year 1950 to ensure the presence of education in the system.
• The First National Commission was in charge by Dr. Kothari in the year 1968.
• 42nd Amendment in year 1976 made education a concurrent subject giving power to both central and state governments to deal with the matter.
• Right to Education was deduced as a part of the Right to Life under Article 21 in the cases of Mohini Jain in 1992 and Unnikrishnan in 1993.
• 86th Amendment Act brought Right to Education as a Fundamental Right under Article 21A.
• In 2005 the report of the Central Advisory Board Committee was submitted to bring the Right to Education Bill.
• The Right to Free and Compulsory to Children Act came in 2009.

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

• It was enacted on 3 September 2009 and was enforced on 1st April 2010.
• It made elementary education free and obligatory for children of 6 to 14 years.
• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights was made the supervisory body.
• No school was allowed to deny the admission of children who have left any other school or are not enrolled anywhere else.
• Private educational institutions were directed to reserve 25% of the seats for students of economically weaker groups.
• It decided the quantity of teachers to provide quality education.
• It decided the evaluation mechanism namely Continuous Comprehensive Education.
• The act is enforceable and justifiable in nature and not just directory.

Additional Provisions in Constitution

Article 15

The State shall not discriminate any person on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth or any of them. Nevertheless, the provision enables state to make special provisions for women and children.

Article 38

It imparts social justice in society. It satisfies the goal of India being a welfare state.

Article 29(2)

Cultural and Educational Rights are mentioned in Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution. Article 29 clause 2 states that, “no citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them”.

Article 30

The linguistic and religious minority group has the right to formulate and administer any institution. It protects their rights.

Other Aspects

• Right to Education was dealt in the landmark cases of St. Xavier College v. State of Gujarat (1974) and T.M.A Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002).
• The scope of Article 30 was discussed in the case of Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v. Union of India (2014). The court discussed whether the institutions under Article 30 are obligated to reserve 25% of seats for free and compulsory education to the backward group. And ruled that minority groups can use the directions as regulatory measure but are not obligated to adhere to it.
• The obiter dicta in the case of Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India (2008) were that all children falling under the age group mentioned in the Article 21A must take schooling and education must be of a quality.
• The Apex Court added the right to have the safe learning environment under right to education through the case of Avinash Mehrotra v. Union of India (2009).

Conclusion

• The right to receive basic elementary education is one of the most important rights.
• It empowers the road toward development.
• Also, awareness is the primary goal behind providing this right.
• The journey for incorporation of Article 21A into the Constitution was extensive.
• A series of cases contributed to reaching the objective.
• Education for girls has also become an agenda of this Article.
• Although it imparts education at the basic level and not for a professional degree.