The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 guaranteeing the free and compulsory elementary education to the children of the age group between 6-14 is one of the most revolutionary and salutary law passed by the Parliament since independence. The ‘United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989’ vide Articles 23, 28 and 29 bestows a ‘right of good education’ on every children and it further enjoins upon ‘everyone with a responsibility to encourage all children to go to school’. India endorsed this document in 1992. To achieve this end, Article 21A ( a Fundamental Right) was inserted in the Constitution by the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 whereby it was mandated that State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. Hitherto now, this matter was dealt with by Article 45 in the form of Directive Principles of State Policy. To effectuate the said constitutional mandate into reality, the Parliament enacted the said Act which received the assent of President on August 26, 2009 and was published in the official gazette on August 27, 2009 for the general information of the public. HRD Ministry through a notification in the official gazette on February 16, 2010 got enforced the provisions of this Act w.e.f. April 1, 2010. Now the onus lies on the parents or guardians of the children to enroll them in the right neighbourhood School. The governments and other local authorities are also under an obligation to sensitize every stakeholder to make best out of this coveted opportunity. There are many grey areas and bottle-necks in the Act which needs to be addressed forthwith for proper and efficacious implementation of the Act. The first thorny challenge arises from the complexities and intricacies of defining, identifying and notifying the neighbourhood Schools. Besides, the task of working out modalities for enrollments of the children towards 25% quota to be set aside by private unaided school will also be quite arduous and painstaking particularly in the face of specific ban on screening test in any form whatsoever. The repercussions of opening admissions round the year on the qualitative education is also a genuine concern. One other radical aspect of this law is that now child will be admitted to a age-appropriate class in stead of skill-appropriate class as prevailed in the earlier dispensation of education laws. This has left the educationist fuming and fretting throughout the country prophesying dooms day for the school education system. Going beyond the realm of the said law, however, the crux of the matter lies in bringing home the 'eternal realization' about the 'wholesome impact' of the 'holistic education' in the life of a human being. A fortiori becomes imperative to frame an all-encompassing curriculum; to prepare a capable, trained and inspiring community of teachers (role model in real sense); to provide for adequate infrastructure (both men based and physical); attractive and secured service conditions (primacy on academic freedom) coupled with optimal freedom in the matter of administration and management of educational institutions to conceptualize and effectuate the noble ideal of 'holistic education'.
A dove-tail of RTI Act, NREG Act, RTE Act, Whistleblower Resolution (as Whistleblowers Bill still pending in Parliament), Food Security Law (pending in Parliament), Women Reservation Law (pending in Parliament) and much desired comprehensive 'Health Security Law' ( the schemes like Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna albeit laudable but abyasmally inadequate) on the line of American Health Care Law if properly conceived, enacted and executed can transform the constitutional goal of egalitarianism into reality.
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