Education is a fundamental right of every child in India. Article 21A, inserted by the 86th Amendment, says that the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years. Article 45 asks the State to provide early childhood care and education for children below six years. Article 51A(k) makes it a duty of a parent or guardian to give a child between six and fourteen the opportunity to be educated.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 gives this right a procedure. A child in this age group can seek admission in a neighbourhood school. No school may collect capitation fee or subject the child or the parents to a screening test at admission. A child cannot be held back or expelled before completing elementary education except as the amended rules on examinations in Classes 5 and 8 allow. Physical punishment and mental harassment are prohibited.
What the RTE Act requires
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Free education means no tuition fee and provision of textbooks, uniforms, and other support as notified by the appropriate government.
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Specified private unaided schools must admit, to the extent of at least twenty-five percent of the strength of Class 1, children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, and give them free education.
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Schools must meet norms on teachers, classrooms, drinking water, and toilets. A school that does not meet the norms can be required to do so within the time the law allows.
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A child with disability has the right to elementary education in an appropriate environment, read with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
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If a school refuses admission, charges a capitation fee, or punishes a child, the parent can complain to the local authority and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
NHRCCB helps families where a child is refused admission, asked to pay an unlawful fee, or pushed out of school. Please share the child’s age, the name of the school, and any written refusal, so the Bureau can take the complaint to the education officer concerned.
