Class SYBA

Division A
Roll No. 145
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Right to Education - The importance of learning is to enable the individual to put his
potentials to optimal use. Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decisionmaker. It achieves this by bringing him knowledge from the external world, teaching
him to reason and acquainting him with past history, so that he can be a better judge
of the present. With education, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to
the outside world. A well educated man is a more dependable worker, a better citizen,
a centre of wholesome influence, pride to his community and honour to his country. A
nation is great only in proportion of its advancement in education.
Over the years, the demand for childrens education has grown by leaps and bounds.
Everybody from the poorest of the poor to the well off, acknowledges the value of
education in the overall development of children. Basically, the object of education is
threefold i.e. physical, mental and spiritual. A perfect system of education must do full
justice to all those three above.
If we take a look at the Education Structure existing in India, we would find that, it is
divided broadly in five stages: Pre-primary, Primary, Upper Primary, Secondary and
Higher Secondary. Schooling in India follows the 10+2 pattern.
Moreover, if we take into consideration the Indian Education Scenario, we would find
that, in the post-independence period, the pace of educational development has been
unprecedented by any standards. The Govt. was committed to ensuring universal
elementary education (primary and upper primary) education for all children aged 6-14
years of age through its flagship program, Sarva Shiksha Abhikyan (SSA). It is
assumed that, the chief aim of such an education must have been just to fit one to
earn a living. It is called Bread and Butter system of education, as well. With the
above situation and concept in mind, on April 1, 2010, India has reached a historic
milestone in countrys struggle for Childrens Right to Education. The Constitution
(86th Amendment) Act 2002 making elementary education a Fundamental Right and its
consequential legislation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
(RTE) Act 2009, comes into force. The enforcement of this right represents a
momentous step forward in 100 year struggle for universalizing elementary
education.
The Salient Features of the RTE Act are:
1. School and social mapping;
2. Catching those out of school;
3. Re-deployment of teachers;

4. Filling vacancies;
5. Grievance redresses;
6. The funding. Inevitably, this will take care of the threefold educational object. It
would also result in bridging the access and enrolment gaps, to a large extent.
Under the RTE Act, it is envisaged that, the teaching-learning process would be
stress-free and a massive program for curricular reform would be initiated to provide
for a child friendly learning system that is at once relevant and empowering. Similarly,
the Teacher accountability systems and processes would ensure that the children are
learning and that their right to learn in a child friendly environment is safeguarded.
Among other essential things, the schools would also ensure adequate and safe
drinking water and an accessible and adequate sanitation facility for girls and boys in
the Institution premises itself. Moreover, school would also provide geo-spatial
technologies to supplement social mapping exercises at the grassroots level.
The immense relevance of inclusive education, particularly of disadvantaged groups,
demands vibrant partnerships with the departments and organizations concerned with
children of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and educationally backward
minorities. Government will have to set up systems for equal opportunity for children
with special needs. The Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments would
need to accelerate poverty reduction programmes so that children are freed from
domestic chores and wage earning responsibilities. State Governments would
simultaneously ensure that the Panchayati Raj institutions get appropriately involved
so that local authorities can discharge their functions under the RTE Act. There is a
need for close cooperation amongst departments concerned to ensure that so far the
deprived children get their rights to education.
The Sports Departments would need to build in physical education for the overall
physical, social, emotional and mental development of the child. Above all, peoples
groups, civil society organizations and voluntary agencies will have to play a crucial
role in implementing the RTE. A vibrant civil society movement would also ensure that
the rights of the child are not violated; it can amplify the voice of the disadvantaged
and weaker sections of society. It can also improve programmer outcomes by
contributing local knowledge and technical expertise and bringing innovative ideas
and solutions to the challenges ahead.
With regard to Constitutional Provisions, it has given considerable importance to the
education. The Constitutional Amendment of 1976 included education in the
Concurrent List, which means that both the Centre and the State have jurisdiction over
enacting legislations on the subject and is a far-reaching step.
As far as National Policies are concerned, there have so far been mainly two
comprehensive statements of the National Policy on Education, viz. those of 1968 and
1986. However, to the advantage of educational system in our country, there have
been certain modifications to above, during the course of time.
With huge investments in the infrastructure of schools, to cater to the educational
needs of children with varying intelligence levels, alternative forms of education is also

fairly widely available. One must get acquainted with those alternatives for self
progress and betterment.
Parents have expectations from the education system that it would equip their children
for gainful employment and economic well being. The enforcement of the
Fundamental Right to Education would provide us a unique opportunity to mount a
mission encompassing all the discourses to fulfill our goal of universal elementary
education. The right to education goes beyond free and compulsory education to
include quality education for all.
With the introduction of RTE Act, in the years to come, there would be a notable
achievement in the literacy rate in our country. Is it not the dream and prime motto
of our Leaders?
Thus, it can be concluded that, Education is a fundamental human right, without which
capabilities for a decent life and effective participation in society are less likely to be
developed. Since the RTE Act has provided us the tools to provide quality education to
all our children, it is now imperative that we, the people of India, join hands to ensure
the implementation of this law in its true spirit. The Government is committed to this
task though real change will happen only through collective action and we must come
forward willingly for the same.
The education is an essential and integral component for human development, and
consequently it may be regarded as a basic right, beyond security and subsistence. In
fact it may even be said that if subsistence is a basic right, then education is inherent to
having the capability to subsist.
The law has come as a boon to India and is expected to be a big boost to children's
education as out of every 100 children attending elementary school only 12 reached the
graduation level compared to the global average of 27. In Europe it was 50-70 students
reaching college from the elementary level. The HRD Ministry expects that the law
would increase India's average to 15 by 2012 and to 30-35 by 2020.