Historical Journey of Right to Education in India

Rigveda regarded Education as something which makes a man self-reliant and self-less.
Plato interpreted Education as something which develops in the body and soul of the pupil all the beauty and all the perfection he is capable of.
Rousseau described Education as child’s development from within.
T.P. Nunn explained Education as the complete development of the individuality of the child so that he can make an original contribution to human life according to the best of his capacity.

All these interpretations points to the importance of education for dignified human existence. That’s the reason Education is regarded as fundamental Human right under Article 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights which propound that everyone has the Right to Education. It further says that Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Indian history evidenced the callous attitude of elites and bureaucrats towards Right to education. In 1870, the Compulsory Education act was passed in Britain which geared up the demand for the provision regarding mass education and compulsory education acts among Indian leaders in 1882. Subsequently in 1893, Maharaja of Baroda introduced Compulsory education for boys in Amreli Taluk which later on in 1906 extended to other states as well. It was for the first time, the word right was used in relation to elementary education in a letter written by Rabindranath Tagore to the International League for the Rational Education of Children in 1908.

In 1906, Gopal Krishna Gokhale made the plea in the Imperial Legislative Assembly for free and compulsory education for all which was opposed by the upper class and the ruling British. Maharaja Darbhanga went one step further and gathered 11,000 signatures from the influential creamy layer to oppose the move. The argument was: if everyone was to go to school, who would tend to their agricultural land?

Certainly in 1917, Vithalbhai Patel succeeded in getting the first bill passed on compulsory education known as Patel Act. By 1918, every province in British India got compulsory education acts on its statute book. All these initiatives came to be established as dormant for the want of resources and lack of enforcement. Comprehending the poor circumstances Mahatma Gandhi in 1937 in All India National Conference on Education held at Wardha mooted the scheme of vocational and manual training as basic education for a period of 7 years.

In 1947 constituent assembly inaugurated with the noble task of framing Indian Constitution and placed Free and Compulsory Education in the account of Fundamental Rights. Countering it the advisory committee turned down in putting Free and Compulsory Education as Fundamental right and placed it in the group of non-justiciable Fundamental rights i.e. Directive Principles of State Policy.

Certainly in 1950, despite of continual demand for education being Fundamental right; the provision for free and compulsory education was implanted under Article 45 as: “The State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.”

Upon the inauspicious insertion of free and compulsory education in Directive Principles of State Policy, K.T. Shah dissented and argues that “once an unambiguous declaration of such a (justiciable) right is made, those responsible for it would have to find ways and means to give effect to it. If they had no such obligation placed upon them, they might be inclined to avail themselves of every excuse to justify their own inactivity in the matter, indifference or worse.” Indeed the foreseeability of K.T. Shah turned out to be true.

Despite the fact that Article 45 directed State to endeavor to provide free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years, no efforts at all were made by State. Based on the analysis of budget speeches of post independence period, particularly in the 10 year period, Gandhian economist L.C. Jain propounded that “there is not to be found even a passing reference to education let alone to Article 45 in the Budget speeches”. In 1968 and 1986 National Policy on Education was formed but futile results born out. In 1975, J.P. Naik argued that compulsion in the age group 11-14 would satisfy the constitutional directive while that in the age group 6-9 or 6-11 would not.

All these efforts turned out to be worthless in practicality. However, it was Ramamurti Committee Report 1990 which castigated government for overlooking the right to education and recommended that “Now the time has come to recognize “Right to Education” as one of the fundamental rights of the Indian citizens…”

The night of darkness pass away..!! Supreme Court’s judgment in Mohini Jain case and Unni Krishnan case came out as the “Glimpse of dawn”……!!!!

In Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka, the Apex court held that: “Right to life is the compendious expression for all those rights which the courts must enforce because they are basic to the dignified enjoyment of life… The right to education flows directly from right to life…”

In J.P. Unni Krishnan v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the Court declared: “The passage of 44 years – more than 4 times the period stipulated in Article 45 has converted the obligation created by the Article into an enforceable right… every child/citizen of this country has a right to free education until he completes the age of fourteen years.”

Adding worth to the call, the Muhi Raam Saikia Committee 1997 recommended making elementary education a fundamental right and imposing a corresponding fundamental duty on parents.

Finally, through the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, Article 21A was inserted, Article 45 was modified, and Article 51A(k) was added as fundamental duty of parents.

For comprehensive implementation of the right to education, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 took birth, came into force on 1 April 2010.

The Act integrated “Free” and “Compulsory education” and mandates 25% reservation (Section 12(1)(c)) in private unaided non-minority schools, prohibits physical punishment, screening, capitation fee, private tuition by teachers, etc.

The 25% reservation was upheld in Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India (2012) and minority institutions were completely exempted in Pramati Educational Trust (2014).

In Rajasthan, the arbitrary 2016 notification excluding certain categories was declared unconstitutional in Abhyutthanam Society v. State of Rajasthan (upheld by Supreme Court).