Education becomes a fundamental right in India
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COMMENTS 
With a new law making education a fundamental right coming into effect on April 1, 2010, India joins a small group of countries with such a provision. All children in the 6-14 age-group can now exercise the right under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
The right to education as a fundamental right formally came into effect on April 1, 2010, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging all stakeholders to make it a success by empowering people through education.
“Today, our government comes before you to pledge all our children elementary education. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, enacted by Parliament in August 2009, comes into force today,” the prime minister said in an address to the nation.
“The fundamental right to education as incorporated in our Constitution through Article 21 (A) has become operative from today. This demonstrates our national commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India. We are a nation of young people. Education will determine the wellbeing of our nation. Education is the key to progress. It empowers individuals. If we nurture our children through the right to education, then India’s future is secured,” he said.
Singh added: “We are committed that all children irrespective of gender and social category have access to education. Education enables them to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitude to become responsible citizens of India.” He urged state governments to join hands to make the initiative a success and appealed to teachers and parents to become partners in this endeavour.
It is now legally enforceable for every child between the ages of six and 14 to demand free and elementary education. An estimated 8 million children in this age-group do not currently attend school in India.
Analysts say the law marks an historic moment for India’s children. “It serves as a building block to ensure that every child has the right to guaranteed quality elementary education. The state, with the help of families and communities, has a legal obligation to fulfil this duty,” said Karin Hulshof, India representative of the United Nations children’s fund Unicef.
Recently, the World Bank announced two education projects worth a total of $1.05 billion for India, one of which is to boost the number of children enrolling in and completing elementary school. The World Bank says the number of children reportedly enrolled in elementary schools in India increased by 57 million, to 192 million, between 2003 and 2009.
More than two-thirds of this increase took place in government schools. The number of out-of-school children declined from 25 million to 8.1 million during the same period, the World Bank says.
Source: The Hindu, April 1, 2010
The Economic Times, April 1, 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk, April 2010