The Right to Education Act, 2009 in India after a decade: appraising achievements and exploring unkept promises

ABSTRACT

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the RTE Act, 2009) came into effect since 1st April 2010, pursuant to the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India (2002), which promises elementary education as a fundamental right. It makes legally binding on the State to ensure free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6–14 years all over India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The 1st April 2020 marked the decadal anniversary of the RTE Act. The present study aims to examine the achievements and gaps in the implementation of the Act after a decade, with the objectives of gaining insights into the major hindrances towards its successful implementation, with a future roadmap based upon the recurring challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Free and compulsory education
• Constitution of India
• right to education
• enrolment
• school infrastructure
• no-detention policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).