Right to free and compulsory education is the basic and most effective tool to bring child abuse to an end. A number of countries including India appear determined to provide quality elementary education to all its children to facilitate their proper growth and development.

1. RIGHT TO EDUCATION
AND EMPOWERMENT
by
Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar
An effort for
Bachpan Bachao Andolan
and
Lex Consilium Foundation

2. EDUCATION
“Teaching or instructions….in particular to the
transmission of knowledge and to intellectual
development,” and in a wider sense as “ the
whole process whereby, in any society, adults
endeavor their beliefs, culture and other values
to the young.”
-The European Court of Human Rights

3. “ Feeding a child at school is such a simple
thing, but it works miracles.”
-Drew Barrymore

4. “The most important thing that parents can
teach their children is how to get along
without them.”
-Judy Collins

5. RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND
EMPOWERMENT

6. SOVIET CONSTITUTION (1963)
The first constitution to recognize the right to
education with a corresponding obligation of
the state to provide such education. The
constitution guaranteed free and compulsory
education at all levels.

7. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
ARTICLE 26(1)
Everyone has a right to education. Education
shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall
be compulsory. Technical and professional
education shall be made generally available and
higher education shall be equally accessible to
all, on the basis of merits.

8. ARTICLE 26(2)
Education shall be directed to the full
development of the human personality and to
strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among
all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for
maintenance of peace.

9. ARTICLE 26(3)
Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of
education that shall be given to their children.

10. “In the current age of capitalism, communication
and globalization, no country can rid itself of
poverty without providing quality education to all
its citizens.”
-Kailash Satyarthi

11. MANIFEST NEED FOR
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Millions
Child Labor 168
Those who have never seen a school 60
Dropped out during primary education 120

12. CHALLENGE
• Only 66 percent of the children enrolled in
Grade I survive to Grade V in India, that is as
much as 34 percent of the children enrolled in
Grade I dropout before reaching Grade V.

13. • Out of every 100 children, only 32 children finish
their school education age appropriately.
• Only 2 percent of the schools offer complete
school education from class 1 to class 12.
• India’s rank is 105 among the 125 countries in the
EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010, UNESCO.

14. The crucial role of universal elementary
education for strengthening the social fabric of
democracy through provision of equal
opportunities to all has been accepted since
inception of our Republic.

15. CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
Has devoted itself considerably to the
importance of education.

16. ARTICLE 21 A
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
The State shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children
between the ages of six to fourteen
years in such a manner as the State
may, by law, determine.

17. ARTICLE 24
Prohibition of employment of children in
factories and risky occupations- No child below
the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in
any factory or mine or engage in any other
hazardous employment.

18. RELEVANCE OF ARTICLE 24
The underlying expectation is that the
prohibition would facilitate a child to attend a
school up to the age of 14.

19. ARTICLE 28
Freedom to attend religious instruction or
religious worship in certain educational
institutions-
No religious instruction shall be provided in any
educational institution wholly maintained out of
State funds.

20. ARTICLE 29
Protection of interest of minorities - No citizen shall be
denied admission into any educational institution
maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State
funds on grounds only of religion , race , caste, language
or any of them.

21. ARTICLE 30
Right of minorities to establish and
administer educational institutions of
their choice.

22. DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE
POLICY
These are contained in Part IV of the
Constitution of India. These are not justiciable
but encourage government to pursue social and
economic measures, including, e.g. - to secure
that there is equal pay for equal work for both
men and women.

23. ARTICLE 39(F)
The State shall, in particular, direct its
policy towards securing that children are
given opportunities and facilities to
develop in a healthy manner and in
conditions of freedom and dignity and that
childhood and youth are protected against
moral and material abandonment.

24. ARTICLE 45
PROVISION FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND
EDUCATION TO CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF SIX
YEARS
The State shall endeavor to provide early
childhood care and education for all
children until they complete the age of six
years.

25. Article 350 A
Facilities for instructions in mother tongue at
primary stage of education for children
belonging to linguistic minority groups.

26. ARTICLE 51 A
Fundamental Duties
(k) Who is a parent or guardian to provide
opportunities for education to his child, or as
the case may be, ward between the age of six
and fourteen years.

27. Out of 97 items included in Union List, seven
entries pertain to education, out of 66 items in
the state list, two pertain to education and out
of the 47 items in the concurrent list, six relate
to education.

28. “Education is imperative for enhancing agricultural
productivity, increasing transparency in
governance, ensuring inclusive development,
sustained growth and promoting active public
participation towards an efficient democracy.”
-Kailash Satyarthi

29. Over the years, there has been significant spatial
and numerical expansion of elementary schools
in the country, yet the goal of universal
elementary education continues to elude us.
The number of children, particularly from
disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, who
drop out of school before completing
elementary education remains very large.
Moreover, the quality of learning achievements
is unsatisfactory even for those who complete
elementary education.

30. THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE
AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION
ACT, 2009
To provide for free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of 6 to
14 years.

31. COMPULSORY EDUCATION
Means obligation of the appropriate
government to provide free elementary
education and ensure compulsory admission,
attendance and completion of elementary
education to every child in six to fourteen age
group.

32. DEFINITIONS
 CHILD, Section 2(c):
Means a male or a female child of the age of 6 to
14 years.

33. RIGHTS OF CHILD
Section 3
Every child of the age of six to fourteen
years shall have the right to free and
compulsory education in a neighbourhood
school till the completion of his or her
elementary education.

34. FREE EDUCATION
Removal of any financial barrier by the state that
prevents a child from completing eight years of
schooling.

35. FREE EDUCATION
Section 3 (2)
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 his/her
elementary education.

36. INCLUSIVE RIGHT
(Section 1 read with section 3)
This right is also available to the children
belonging to disadvantaged groups or weaker
sections of the society, or those with physical,
mental or other disabilities.

37. THOSE LEFT OUT
(Section 4)
Where a child above six years of age has not
been admitted in any school or, though
admitted, could not complete his or her
elementary education, then he or she shall be
admitted in a class appropriate to his or her
age.
Elementary education beyond 14 years will be
continued for a child so admitted.

38. DUTY OF PARENTS
(Sec 10)
It shall be the duty of every parent or
guardian to admit, or cause to be admitted,
his or her child or ward, as the case may
be, to an elementary education in the
neighborhood school.

39. PROOF OF AGE
(Sec 14)
The age of a child shall be determined
based on his/her birth certificate.
There shall be no denial of admission for
lack of age proof.

40. NO DENIAL OF ADMISSION
(Sec 15)
At any stage (commencement of academic
years, or within prescribed extended
period or even subsequently) a child
admitted later shall complete his studies.

41. PROHIBITION OF HOLDING BACK
AND EXPULSION
(Sec 16)
No child admitted in a school shall be held
back in any class or expelled from school till
the completion of his/her elementary
education.

42. PROHIBITION OF PHYSICAL
PUNISHMENT AND MENTAL
HARASSMENT TO CHILD
(Sec 17)
No child shall be subjected to physical
punishment or mental harassment.
Those who contravene shall be liable to
disciplinary action under the applicable
service rules.

43. Role of Punishment in Child
Education
(Child Punishment)
It is important to tell children how to distinguish
right from wrong at their early ages and
punishment is a fairly acceptable way to make
the distinction between right and wrong. For
example, if he litters up in the classroom, he
should be asked to tidy up the classroom by
himself, as a punishment.

44. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
• Corporal Punishment of school students for
misbehavior has been banned in many
countries. It often involves striking the student
on the buttock or the palm of the hand with
an implement kept for the purpose, or with
open hand.

45. POSITION IN U.S
PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT
PRIVILEGE OF ONE-IN-CHARGE
One who is in charge or education of a group of
children is privileged to apply such force or
impose such confinement upon on or more of
them as is reasonably necessary to secure
observance of the discipline necessary for the
education and training of the children as a
group.

46. EFFECT OF EXCESSIVE FORCE
• If the actor applies a force or imposes a
confinement upon a child, which is in excess
of that which is privileged,
a) The actor is liable for so much of the force or
confinement as is excessive;
b) The child has the privilege to defend himself
against the actor’s use or attempted use of
the excessive force or confinement.

47. STUDENT BENEFIT THEORY
• A principle that allows state funds in USA to
be provided to private-school pupils if the
allotment can be justified as beneficiary to
the child.

48. LANDMARK JUDGEMENTS

49. SOCIETY FOR UNAIDED PRIVATE
SCHOOLS OF RAJASTHAN V. UOI,
(2012) 6 SCC 1.
The goal of universal, primary or
elementary education under the RTE Act
will mean right of every child of the age of
6 to 14 years to free and compulsory
education in a neighborhood school till the
completion of elementary education (i.e.
class I to VIII).

50. The State while granting recognition to
private unaided non-minority schools may
specify permissible percentage of seats to be
earmarked for children who may not be in
position to pay their fee or charges.

51. • RTE Act is applicable only to day scholars, if
any, in boarding schools and orphanages and
not to the boarders.
• The State can remove all barriers which make
right to education unaffordable.
Fundamental rights have to be interpreted in
the light of Directive Principles of State Policy.
• No reservation can be made in unaided
minority schools.

52. Unaided institutions can voluntarily take up
these responsibilities on principles of
voluntariness, cooperation and concession.
Along with positive obligations on State to
provide children with said rights, there is also
a negative obligation on non-state actors not
to interfere with realization of the said rights
by not resorting to profiteering, excessive fee
capitation fee, mal-administration or cross
subsidy etc.

53. RTE Act, 2009 is child centric which is
distinguished from institution–centric. Its object
is to (a) strengthen social fabric of democracy by
providing equal education opportunities to all
children, (b) to remove all barriers impeding
right of access to primary education and (c) to
set up an intrinsic regime of providing such a
right. The State has a duty of micro-level
financial planning to provide quality education
by resorting to provisions of RTE Act.

54. Word ‘free’ in long title stands for removal of any
financial barrier by the State. The word
‘compulsory’ in that title stands for compulsion on
State and the parental duty to send children to
school.

55. QUOTE
All adults stand accused …the society responsible for
the welfare of the children has been put on trial. There
is something apocalyptic about the startling accusation;
it is mysterious and terrible like the voice of the Last
Judgement:
“ What have you done to the children I entrusted to
you”
-Maria Montessori
The Secret Of Childhood,1936

56. INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS.
 ARTICLE 13
The State parties to the present Covenant
recognize that , with a view to achieving the full
realization of this right:
a) Primary education shall be compulsory and
available free to all.

57. ARTICLE 14
Every state party to the present Covenant which
at the time of becoming a party has not been able
to secure in its metropolitan territory, or other
territories under its jurisdiction compulsory
primary education free of charge undertakes
within two years, to work and adopt a detailed
plan of action for progressive implementation
within a reasonable number of years, to be fixed
in the plan of the principle of compulsory
education free of charge for all.

58. CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION
OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST WOMEN
 ARTICLE 10
States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to eliminate discrimination against
women in order to ensure to them equal rights
with men in the field of education and in
particular to ensure on basis of equality of men
and women
d) The same opportunities to benefit from
scholarship and other study grants.

59. RIGHT TO EDUCATION
IN
BRAZIL
A. Brazil spends about 6.1 percent of its GDP on
Education.
B. Primary School participation is 94.5 % for males
and 95.1% for females.
C. Quality of education remains low. 18% of the
Brazilian population is functionally illiterate.
D. Right to primary education is a fundamental
right.

60. ACCESS TO COMPULSORY AND FREE
EDUCATION IS AN ENFORCEABLE
PUBLIC RIGHT
The Union, the States and the Municipalities are
all responsible for primary education. They are
obligated to spend 25% of tax revenues on
education and, of which, 60% has to be spent on
primary education.

61. NORWAY
a) Norway spends 6.87% of its GDP on education.
School enrollment is universal in Norway (99.44%
in 2012).
b) Education is compulsory for children between the
ages of 6-16 years.
c) Education Act No.61 of 1998 provides for free and
compulsory education at the primary level
(primary and lower secondary) for ten years and
the statutory right to upper secondary education
for three years.

62. PRIMARY GOALS IN EDUCATION
1. Moral outlook
2. Creative Abilities
3. Work
4. General Education
5. Cooperation
6. Natural Environment

63. SUDAN
1. Sudan spends 2.2% of its GDP on education.
2. Only 53.7% of children of school going age
attend school in Sudan.
3. More than a third of secondary school age
children were attending primary school.
4. Only 19.3% reach class 8 which is the last
stage of primary education.

64.  Due to long history of civil conflict , Sudan has a
large population of internally displaced children
to whom access to education remains a huge
challenge.
 Child Act 2010 stipulates that free education at
the basic stage is a fundamental right.

65. PAKISTAN
A. Pakistan spends 2.1% of its GDP on education.
B. The Constitution of Pakistan (through the 18th
amendment ,2010) guarantees the fundamental right
to education to the citizens of Pakistan.
C. Education is a provincial subject. So the enforcement
of right to education depends on provincial
governments.

66. ARTICLE 25.A – RIGHT TO
EDUCATION
The State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of the age of five to
sixteen years in such a manner as may be
determined by law.

67. At present about one third primary
school age children are out of school.
42% population of children (above the
age of ten) is illiterate.

68. THANKS