The Right to Education Act: the Right Itself

In one line

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 gives content to article 21A by conferring on every child of six to fourteen the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education, and by allocating the duties for delivering it.

Section 3: the right

Every child of the age of six to fourteen years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education.

No child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.

Three elements, and each is doing work.

Free is defined by its purpose: no fee, charge or expense which may prevent the child from pursuing and completing. So the test is not whether a payment is called a fee but whether it operates as an obstacle.

Compulsory is defined in section 8, and its meaning is the opposite of what the word suggests: it is an obligation on the appropriate Government, not on the child.

And neighbourhood school ties the right to a place, which section 6 then requires the State to establish.

A further provision extends the right to a child with disability to free and compulsory education until completion of elementary education.

Sections 4 and 5: admission and transfer

Section 4. A child above six who has not been admitted to any school, or who has been admitted but could not complete elementary education, shall be admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age, and shall have a right to receive special training to be at par, and shall continue to be entitled to free education till completion even after fourteen.

That provision is more significant than it appears, because it addresses the child who was out of school, which is the child the right is chiefly for.

Section 5. A right of transfer to another school, with a transfer certificate to be issued immediately and delay not being a ground to deny admission.

Sections 6 to 11: the duties

This is the allocation, and giving it as an allocation is what makes the chapter useful.

Section 6, the appropriate Government and the local authority: to establish a school within the area or limits of the neighbourhood where one is not established, within three years.

Section 7, the sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.

Section 8, the appropriate Government: to provide free and compulsory elementary education to every child; to ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion; to ensure availability of a neighbourhood school; to ensure the child is not subjected to discrimination and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education; to provide infrastructure, teaching staff and learning material; to provide special training; to ensure good quality education conforming to standards and norms; to ensure timely prescribing of curriculum; to provide training facilities for teachers; and to ensure admission of children of migrant families.