Education in India is a concurrent subject in law but an unequal entitlement in practice. With reference to the gaps the Right to Education Act 2009 has left unaddressed, examine.
Subtopic: Social Justice · Education
How to structure your answer
Introduction: Education moved to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment 1976; the 86th Amendment 2002 inserted Article 21A and Articles 51A(k) and 45, operationalised by the RTE Act 2009.
Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory floor — free and compulsory education 6–14 years, 25% EWS reservation upheld in Society for Unaided Private Schools v. Union of India (2012); (ii) outcomes — ASER 2024 reports about 25% of Class 5 children cannot read a Class 2 text, NIPUN Bharat targets unmet; (iii) policy shift — NEP 2020 extending RTE to 3–18, NCF 2023 reforms, school-rationalisation challenges.
Way forward / Conclusion: Bring 3–18 within Article 21A through a constitutional amendment, link grants to learning outcomes, and revive the Kothari Commission's six per cent of GDP norm.
Written within the word limit
142 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: Education moved to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment 1976, and Article 21A inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment 2002, read with Articles 45 and 51A(k), was operationalised by the Right to Education Act 2009.
Body: Three dimensions show the unequal entitlement. First, the statutory floor — free and compulsory education for ages 6-14, with Section 12(1)(c) 25% EWS reservation upheld in Society for Unaided Private Schools v. Union of India (2012) and Pramati Educational Trust v. UoI (2014). Second, outcomes — ASER 2024 reports about 25% of Class 5 children cannot read a Class 2 text, with NIPUN Bharat foundational-literacy targets unmet across most States. Third, policy shift — NEP 2020 extends the entitlement to 3-18 years and NCF 2023 anchors Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, while school rationalisation and PM-SHRI rollouts remain uneven.
Conclusion: Bring 3-18 within Article 21A by amendment, link grants to learning outcomes, and revive the Kothari Commission's 6% of GDP norm.
What an examiner expects to see
- 42nd Amendment 1976 — education to Concurrent List
- 86th Constitutional Amendment 2002 — Article 21A right to education
- RTE Act 2009 — free and compulsory education 6–14 years
- Section 12(1)(c) RTE — 25% EWS reservation
- Society for Unaided Private Schools v. Union of India (2012)
- ASER 2024 reports learning-poverty gaps
- National Education Policy 2020 — Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Society for Unaided Private Schools v. Union of India (2012)
- Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v. UoI (2014)
- NIPUN Bharat Mission
- PM-SHRI Schools scheme
- Kothari Commission Report 1966 on 6% of GDP