Introduction
Education is a very important part of any child’s life. Many people in India are below the poverty line and they are not able to provide education to their children. The initiative of providing free education to the weaker section of the society will help the society grow. Not getting proper education will hamper the growth of their child in the long run.
The Right to Education is mentioned under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights. Therefore, State and Central Government should properly make its execution.
Article 21 A states that the “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.”
For the enforcement of this fundamental right, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act, 2009 was enacted. Its objective is to provide free and compulsory education in a neighborhood school till completion of elementary education. Elementary education means education from first class to eight class. Furthermore, while pursuing and completing elementary education no child need to pay any expenses.
For providing free and compulsory education the most important thing is that there should be schools in a nearby area where a child resides. If the school is far away from a child’s house, he will get enrolled in the school but will not be able to continue with it in the long run. The state government and the central government should, therefore, see to it that the schools are being constructed in every locality.
Compulsory Education
Compulsory education comprises many factors other than education. Some of them are:
- Compulsory admission, attendance, and completion of elementary education and its monitoring.
- If the parents do not provide elementary education to their child the reimbursement of fees cannot be claimed.
- The state should not discriminate and prevent from pursuing and completing elementary education among the children belonging to the weaker section.
- Similarly, the school building, teaching staff, and learning equipment should be provided for supporting the aim of elementary education.
- Lastly, the curriculum and courses of study should be prescribed on time, and teachers should be well trained.
The obligations for providing elementary education starts from the age of six years. But the government may make necessary arrangements for pre-school education for children of three to six years of age.
There is a responsibility on the schools also to provide free and compulsory education to all children. The government-aided institutions are having a duty to provide free and compulsory education to such percentage of students in elementary classes which equals the percentage of recurring aid received by it from the Government to the annual recurring expenditure incurred by the school, subject to a minimum of 25%.
Procedure
Any amount received in way of donations other than fees from any child leads to a penalty. The academic authority will prepare the curriculum and the evaluation procedure according to the rules. The Authority needs to keep in mind the following points while preparing the curriculum and the evaluation procedure :
- Conformity with Constitutional values.
- All-round development of the child.
- Building a child’s knowledge, potentiality, and talent.
- Development of physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent
- Learning through activities, discovery, and exploration in a child-friendly and child-centered manner.
- The child’s mother tongue serving ‘as far as practicable’ as the medium of instruction.
- Making the child free of fear, trauma, and anxiety and helping the child to express views freely
- Comprehensive and continuous evaluation of the child’s understanding and knowledge and the ability to apply it.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it becomes the duty of the parents to understand the importance of education. The act also imposes the moral duty on the parents to admit their children/wards to schools and ensure that children are not deprived of their right to elementary education. The parents should know that if their children give some time to education they can secure their future.
The government makes the law to help the poorer families of the country. It becomes our responsibility to ensure the applicability of this law in a very vast manner. The government not only provides compulsory education but also mid-day meals, uniforms, and books. The children only have to come to school and attend the classes. The parents need to motivate their children to make the most of this opportunity which has been started by the government.
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