SNDT WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL.

Name : Varsharani. K . Surwade

Roll no: 54

Class: 1st year LL.M.

Subject: Law and social Transformation

Professor name: MS. Janaki Misra

Seminar topic: Children and Education

 INDEX

Sr.no Particular Page no

1. Introduction
1

2. History
Education in India
3, Education in india
4. Role of education
5 Initiative
6 ETE
7 Conclusion
8 Judgment
9. Suggestion
‘
 Children and Education

Introduction

From the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, children are like buds in the garden that need
to be carefully nurtured, as they are the future citizens of tomorrow. Education acts
as the wind beneath the wings for children to grow as healthy and prosperous adults
in the future.

Education plays a pivotal role in a child’s life as it helps them to think and analyze
critically, enhance their imagination and thought processes. This platform exposes
them to new ideas and helps them achieve success through their dream careers.

A child plays a vital role as they unfold the door to the success of a nation, and
education plays a significant role to unlock the success of a child. A nation achieves
its growth and success only when a child succeeds

Education is highly essential in a child’s life and lays the foundation of his/her
adulthood success later in life. It acts as a tool that decides whether the individual
was contented or happy as an adult or turns out as a depressed and emotionally
devastated individual.

Did you know that nearly 70 Million children across the world lack the opportunity to
visit the school? Nearly 32 Million children residing in African countries alone lack the
opportunity to visit the school.

India has imposed the Right To Education Act 2009, to make Education mandatory
for children between the age of 6 to 14 years and thus leading India to grow as one
of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

For nations to reach the United Nation’s ‘Goals of Sustainable Development By

2030’, they must implement and spend more money on child education.
 History of Education in India

Traditionally, only the highest caste – the Brahims – were taught to read and
write. To say it more precise: the traditional Hindu education served only the needs
of boys who belong to Brahim families. Education was similarly elitist under the
Moguls who favored the rich rather than those from high-caste backgrounds. Under
the British colonial rule these elitist tendencies were even reinforced (Lall/House,
2005, p. 2). In the year 1600 The East India Company came to India mainly to
explore business possibilities but it also thought to establish its own empire in the
country. While the supremacy of the British in India increased with the establishment
of East India Company, education in general was neglected (Singh, 2007, p. 56).

British era

In order to spread Christianity, a number of missionaries came to India and

established institutions for education (Jayapalan, 2005, p. 51) where they
propagated the spread of Christian religion through English medium (Singh, 2007, p.
57). The increasing efforts of the missionaries with regard to English education led to
dissatisfaction among the populace thus, this matter was raised in British Parliament.
This resulted in the enactment of the Charter of 1813 which threw light on the policy
of education in India and accepted the responsibility of government for spreading
education (Singh, 2007, p. 57). The charter of 1813 created a controversy known as
“the occidental-oriental controversy”. The supporters of the Oriental view were in
favor of the old Indian system of education whereas the Occidental view ridiculed the
Indian system and attempted to introduce English literature and Western science
through the English medium (Pathak, 2007, p. 45). In 1834, Lord Macaulay came to
India during the violent Oriental and Occidental controversy as a Law member of the
council of Governor-General (Sharma/Sharma, 2004, p. 80). Lord Macaulay played
an important role in resolving this controversy and his famous Minute (Macaulay
Minute) paved the way for the British system of education in India (Singh, 2007, p.
61). Macaulay strongly criticized the eastern system of education and culture and
ridiculed it by saying “A single shelf of good European library was worth the whole
native literature of India and Arabia” (Singh, 2007, p. 61). Macaulay’s Minute
expressed his mission to create a class of persons who should be “Indians in blood
and colour but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect” (Jayapalan,
2005, p. 56). Even though Macaulay’s Minute was presuming, it ended the Oriental-
Occidental controversy and laid the foundation-stone of modern education system in
India and further marked the real beginning of bilingualism in the Indian education
system (Sharma/Sharma, 2004, p. 83). The British were not primarily interested in
the education of masses and, therefore, introduced the idea of Downward filtration.
This means that only the Indian elite or top class people would be educated and
through them the lower class would also benefit (Pathak, 2007, p. 45).

In 1854 a charter was issued by Charles Wood who was then the Chairman of the
Board of control of the Company. Thus, the charter is known as Wood’s Despatch of
1854 as he was the main architect of it (Pathak, 2007, p. 45). This despatch helped
to provide education a definite structure, base and shape. The Wood’s
Despatch defined educational policy in India as the diffusion of European knowledge
(Singh, 2007, p. 86). It is said that the Wood’s Despatch laid the foundation of the
present system of education in India (Sing, 2007, p. 90). Due to the despatch
education had a structure with indigenous schools and primary schools at the base
and universities at the top. Further, departments were installed in each province to
look after the state of education and it recommended the foundation of graded
schools (Indigenous Primary schools, Middle schools, High schools, Colleges and
Universities). The despatch introduced a system of grant-in-aid and therewith sought
the cooperation of private corporations in the field of education (Singh, 2007, p. 90).
Further it made recommendations for the expansion of general women’s education
and vocational education and to establish two universities of Calcutta and Bombay
(Pathak, 2007, p. 46f). Wood’s recommendation to make the mother tongue the
medium of instruction was not followed and English was made the medium of
instruction and got firmly established throughout the country. However, the main
contribution of the Wood’s Despatch was the formation of a system of education
from primary school to University. Since then, serious efforts were made by the
Government to promote education at all levels but the journey for the government to
establish a system that was able to satisfy every section of the society was neither
simple nor smooth (Reddy, 2010, p. 1). Due to dissatisfaction of the people that
started surfacing when the outcomes of educational measures undertaken by the
government did not seem to match their expectation, several measures for
educational reconstruction followed. Some landmark developments in the history of
modern Indian education were made during the pre-independence period which
cannot be explained further in this paper.

The prevalent educational system in India is a legacy of British education with some
influence of North-American tradition of higher education and a few indigenous
innovations to respond to socio-cultural needs of the contemporary society
(Achuthan/Agrawal et al, 1993, p. 20). When becoming independent in 1947, India
inherited an educational system with great educational disparities between men and
women, upper and lower classes and urban and rural populations. In a badly
battered and shattered nation full of historical disparities among various regions and
communities, education was seen as a vehicle to bring about justice, liberty, equality
and fraternity among the populace of a multilingual, multireligious and multiethnic
country (Achutan/Agrawal et al, 1993, p. 21). The first mile stone in the development
of education in independent India was the enactment of the Indian Constitution in
1950 which laid down broad educational policies for the country (Biswas/Agrawal,
1994, p. 655). In innumerable conferences, committees and commissions,
educationists, State Ministers of education and other educational experts were called
to discuss the problems of education and offer programs for reconstruction of
education in independent India (Biswas/Agrawal, 1994, p. 655). One of the most
important policy statements was the policy statement of 1968 which was a sequel of
the Report of the Education Commission (1964-1966), popularly called Dr. D. S.
Kothari Commission. The Kothari Commission was built to formulate a coherent
education policy for India and according to the commission, education was intended
to increase productivity, develop social and national unity, consolidate democracy,
modernize the country and develop social, moral and spiritual values (Lall/House,
2005, p. 2). To achieve this aims, the main pillar of the Indian education policy was
free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14. Other features
included the development of languages, the equality of educational opportunities and
the development and prioritization of scientific education and research (Lall/House,
2005, p. 3). In 1986, Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi announced a new education policy:
the National Policy on Education (NPE). It laid stress on the need for radical
reconstructions of the education system in general, to improve its overall quality and
gave great attention to science and technology (Kumar, 2004, p. 54). Even though
the central government declared with the policy of 1986 that it would accept a wider
responsibility to enforce a national and integrative character of education, the states
retained a significant role, particularly in relation to the curriculum. The key legacies
of the 1986 policy were the promotion of privatization and an emphasis on
secularism and science. Another consequence of the NPE was that the quality of
education was seen as a problem and thus, several initiatives have been developed
to counter these problems (Lall/House, 2005, p. 3). As a result of these initiatives
changes are being made on the ground. A massive infrastructure development and a
teacher recruitment drive were initiated nationally. The NPE not only focused on
improvements to school environments but also to instructional material and teacher
training (Create, 2009, p. 2). Various government schemes target disadvantaged
children such as the Alternative, Innovative and Education Guarantee Scheme which
provides education in smaller, isolated habitations in rural areas or urban slums and
schooling to difficult-to-reach groups such as working and migrating children. A mid-
day meal scheme was introduced which aims to provide a cooked mid-day meal to
all children attending primary school. Additionally, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a
program which aims to achieve universal elementary education of satisfactory quality
by the year 2010 (Create, 2009, p. 2). The Indian government is preparing the
universalization of secondary education (USE) with the main aim to provide high
quality secondary education to all Indian adolescents up to the age of 16 by 2015
and senior secondary education up to the age of 18 by 2020 (Nordic, 2006, p. 5).

After Independence in 1947, governments have tried to address the limitations of the
Indian education system in the framework of its Constitution, and have introduced
various policies and programs for widening the access to education, for enhancing
the overall quality of education and to promote literacy throughout the country
(Sinha, 2006, p. 105). Although the Indian education system has improved
considerably since independence it still is facing manifold problems. Before
presenting and discussing these problems it is important to gain insight into the
structure of the present day education system in India.
Education in India
Education in India means the process of teaching, learning, and training of human
capital in schools and colleges. This improves and increases knowledge and results in
skill development hence enhancing the quality of the human capital. Our government
has always valued the importance of education in India and this is reflected in our
economic policies.

Growth in Government Expenditure on Education

There are two areas where government expresses there expenditure.

 As a percentage of total government expenditure.

 As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The percentage of expenditure on education out of total government expenditure is the
indicator of the importance of education in the scheme of expenses before the
government. The commitment level towards the development of education in our
country can be shown by the percentage of expenditure done on education out of total
GDP.

During 1952-2010, the percentage of total education expenditure out of total

government expenditure increased from 7.92% to 11.10%. At the same time, the
percentage of GDP of the country increased from 0.64% to 3.25%. As the expenditure
on education was not constant during that time, the growth of country was irregular in
that era.

Expenditure on Elementary Education in India

In comparison to expenditure done on elementary education and higher education, the
major share was grabbed by elementary education. On the contrary, expenditure per
student on higher education was higher than that of elementary education.

As the expansion of school education is going on, we need more trained teachers who
have studied at educational institutes. Therefore, expenditure on all levels of education
should increase. Himachal Pradesh spends Rs. 2005 as per capita education
expenditure as compared to Bihar which spends Rs. 515. This results in differences of
educational opportunities between states.

Free and Compulsory Education

The education commission (1964-66) recommended that at least 6% of GDP should be
spent on education to make a recognizable growth rate in education. In December
2002, the government of India, through its 86th amendment of the Constitution of India,
declared for free and compulsory education as a fundamental right to all children in the
age group of 6-14 years.

The Tapas Majumdar Committee was appointed by the government of India in the year
1998. The committee estimated an expenditure of Rs. 1.37 Lakh crore (approx) for
1998-99 to 2006-07, to cater all Indian children of 6-14 years age group, under the
umbrella of school education.

Currently, the expenditure is around 4%, which has to be increased to 6% to reach

desired results in years to come. Government levies education cess at the rate of 2%
on all union taxes. The revenues from education cess will be earmarked for spending
on elementary education.

Educational Achievement in India

Barometers of educational achievement in a country are:

 Adult literacy level

 Primary education completion rate

 Youth literacy rate

Role of Education in Indian

Role of education in modern India

Education plays an important role in modernization of Indian Society. Training and

education should be able to generate the following outcome in our society:

1. To keep up with new developments in the knowledge change and the

curriculum shifts.
2. Changing the way teachers teach students by adopting the latest
methods and pedagogy.
3. Emphasize vocational subjects, Science education, and Research.
4. Establishment of major universities across the country.
5. Formation of interest, willingness, production of attitude, and values.
6. Be able to build independent research and capacity to think and judge
for oneself.
Role of education in synthesizing cultural and scientific values

According to education commission of India

“We believe that India should strive to bring science and the values of the spirit
together in harmony and thereby pave their way for the eventual emergence of a
society which would cater to the needs of the man as a whole and not only to a
particular fragment of his personality”

From this statement we can gather that what we want from education is for scientific
outlook must become a part of how we live and our culture.

Role of education in promoting international understanding

Education would enable us to

1. Highlighting the contribution made by different countries to the

advancement of humanity. This makes us committed to bringing
change for the betterment of society and humanity as a whole.
2. It could also be considered to revise textbooks so as to exclude
derogatory information towards other nations.
Importance of Education in Indian Economy

Education plays a key role in a developing economy’s growth. Since independence

of India has always been raising the literacy rate. There are many educational
policies followed by the Indian government these days to improve the status of
education among its citizens.

Let us now highlight the role of education in economic development in points.

 1. Educating masses can increase the production capacity of a country.
2. Secondary schools should be prepared to meet the needs of the
workplace and industries. Vocalising education would enable us to
meet the needs of industry, agriculture and trade.
3. Having work experience as part of high school curriculum is necessary
in order to develop an increasingly competitive workforce. This plays
an important role in economic empowerment as experienced workforce
contribute immensely to country’s economic might.
4. Increasing research and education at the university level in science
and technology, with special focus on agriculture and related science,
would enable the economy to develop.
Education produces skilled and specialised workers. These skilled workers can
manage complex machines or techniques that cannot be used by unskilled workers.
Human capital increases productivity and, as a result, increased output contributes
to economic growth. Increased job rates and decreased wealth inequality are
measures of economic growth.

Role of education in developing secular outlook

Following steps are needed for improving secular outlook of citizens of this country

1. Introducing guidance on social and spiritual moral values.

2. Providing a programme that offers good knowledge on each of the
world’s main religions.
3. Education motivates students to meet for silent meditation in groups.
4. Stress on scientific viewpoints in life.
5. Affirms the importance of social justice and civic responsibility.
Role of education in developing democratic values

Education should aim towards the development of following values

1. Tolerance and cooperation

2. Large heartedness
3. Scientific temper of mind
4. Respect for culture of other groups
Role of education in promoting social and natural integration

Education is a key vehicle for fostering development and greater prosperity.

Education is a way of learning and expanding culture. It leads to the advancement of
the human condition through improved knowledge, health, living standards, social
justice and efficiency. All these are key indicators of social change.

National unity and emotional integration are two factors that are important when
addressing the success and stability of any country. When it comes to about
question of national integration education plays an important role. Education aims to
do more than support students individually. The aim of a person’s education is to
develop socially successful and productive individuals.
Education achieves these aims through stressing on following points

1. Constantly creating a common school system of public education.

2. Using different events and services to foster national consciousness.
3. Making sure students have a forum to connect is a great way to inspire
and empower them to engage in community living.
Role of education in establishing socialistic pattern of society

The phrase “socialist pattern of society”, according to the Planning Commission (see
this reference), means “that the basic criterion for determining the lines of advance
must not be private profit but social gain, and that the pattern of development and
the structure of socio-economic relations should be so planned that they result not
only in appreciable increases in national income and employment but also in greater
equality in incomes and wealth”.
The education system should provide for

1. Equality of opportunity in education

2. Common school system
3. Compulsory social and national service
4. Provision of scholarships.
Initiatives
Central government involvement
Following India's independence, a number of rules were formulated for the backward
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of India. In 1960, a list identifying 405
Scheduled Castes and 225 Scheduled Tribes was published by the central
government. An amendment was made to the list in 1975, which identified 841
Scheduled Castes and 510 Scheduled Tribes. The total percentage of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes combined was found to be 22.5% with the Scheduled
Castes accounting for 17% and the Scheduled Tribes accounting for the remaining
7.5%. Following the report many Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
increasingly referred to themselves as Dalit, a Marathi language terminology used
by B R Ambedkar which literally means "oppressed".
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are provided for in many of India's
educational programmes. Special reservations are also provided for the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India, e.g. a reservation of 15% in Kendriya
Vidyalaya for Scheduled Castes and another reservation of 7.5% in Kendriya
Vidyalaya for Scheduled Tribes. Similar reservations are held by the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes in many schemes and educational facilities in
India. The remote and far-flung regions of North-East India are provided for under
the Non-Lapsible Central pool of Resources (NLCPR) since 1998–1999. The NLCPR
aims to provide funds for infrastructure development in these remote areas.
Women from remote, underdeveloped areas or from weaker social groups in Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh,
and Uttarakhand, fall under the Mahila Samakhya Scheme, initiated in 1989. Apart
from provisions for education this programme also aims to raise awareness by
holding meetings and seminars at rural levels. The government allowed ₹340
million (US$4.3 million) during 2007–08 to carry out this scheme over 83 districts
including more than 21,000 villages.
There are 68 Bal Bhavans and 10 Bal Kendra affiliated to the National Bal Bhavan.
The scheme involves educational and social activities and recognising children with
a marked talent for a particular educational stream. A number of programmes and
activities are held under this scheme, which also involves cultural exchanges and
participation in several international forums.
India's minorities, especially the ones considered 'educationally backward' by the
government, are provided for in the 1992 amendment of the Indian National Policy
on Education (NPE). The government initiated the Scheme of Area Intensive
Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities and Scheme of Financial
Assistance or Modernisation of Madarsa Education as part of its revised Programme
of Action (1992). Both these schemes were started nationwide by 1994. In 2004 the
Indian parliament passed an act which enabled minority education establishments to
seek university affiliations if they passed the required norms.
Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India in collaboration
with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has also launched a National
Scholarship Portal to provide students of India access to National and State Level
Scholarships provided by various government authorities. As a Mission Mode Project
under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), the online service enlists more than
50 scholarship programs every year including the renowned Ministry of Minority
Affairs (MOMA) Scholarships for Post-Matric and Pre-Matric studies. In the academic
year 2017–18 the MOMA Scholarships facilitated the studies of 116,452 students
with scholarships worth ₹3165.7 million. The National Scholarship continues to enlist
scholarship programs managed by AICTE (All India Council for Technical
Education), UGC (University Grants Commission) and respective state governments.
Legislative framework
Article 45, of the Constitution of India originally stated:
The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the
commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all
children until they complete the age of fourteen years.
This article was a directive principle of state policy within India, effectively meaning
that it was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the
government could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed.
[217]
However, the enforcement of this directive principle became a matter of debate
since this principle held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the
only directive principle within the Indian constitution to have a time limit.
Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s the 93rd
amendment bill suggested three separate amendments to the Indian constitution:
The constitution of India was amended to include a new article, 21A, which read:
The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of
six to fourteen years in a such manner as the State may, by law, determine.
Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which read:
Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six
years: The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for
all children until they complete the age of sixteen years.
Another article, 51A, was to additionally have the clause:
...a parent or guardian [shall] provide opportunities for education to his child or, as
the case may be, [a] ward between the age of six to fourteen years.
The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian
parliament, on 28 November 2001. It was later passed by the upper house—
the Rajya Sabha—on 14 May 2002. After being signed by the President of India the
Indian constitution was amended formally for the eighty sixth time and the bill came
into effect. Since then those between the age of 6–14 have a fundamental right to
education.
Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds that:
The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of
the weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all
forms of social exploitation'.
Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in
Articles 330, 332, 335, 338–342. Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the
Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes.
Central government expenditure on education
As a part of the tenth Five-year Plan (2002–2007), the central government of India
outlined an expenditure of 65.6% of its total education budget of ₹438
billion (US$5.5 billion) i.e. ₹288 billion (US$3.6 billion) on elementary education;
9.9% i.e. ₹43.25 billion (US$540 million) on secondary education; 2.9% i.e. ₹12.5
billion (US$160 million) on adult education; 9.5% i.e. ₹41.77 billion (US$520 million)
on higher education; 10.7% i.e. ₹47 billion (US$590 million) on technical education;
and the remaining 1.4% i.e. ₹6.24 billion (US$78 million) on miscellaneous
education schemes.
During the Financial Year 2011–12, the Central Government of India has
allocated ₹ 38,957 crore for the Department of School Education and Literacy which
is the main department dealing with primary education in India. Within this allocation,
major share of ₹ 21,000 crore, is for the flagship programme 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan'.
However, budgetary allocation of ₹ 210,000 million is considered very low in view of
the officially appointed Anil Bordia Committee recommendation of ₹ 356.59 billion for
the year 2011–12. This higher allocation was required to implement the recent
legislation 'Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. In recent
times, several major announcements were made for developing the poor state of
affairs in education sector in India, the most notable ones being the National
Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government. The announcements are; (a) To progressively increase expenditure on
education to around 6% of GDP. (b) To support this increase in expenditure on
education, and to increase the quality of education, there would be an imposition of
an education cess over all central government taxes. (c) To ensure that no one is
denied of education due to economic backwardness and poverty. (d) To make right
to education a fundamental right for all children in the age group 6–14 years. (e) To
universalise education through its flagship programmes such as Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan and Midday Meal Scheme.
However, even after five years of implementation of NCMP, not much progress has
been seen on this front. Although the country targeted towards devoting 6% share of
the GDP towards the educational sector, the performance has definitely fallen short
of expectations. Expenditure on education has steadily risen from 0.64% of GDP in
1951–52 to 2.31% in 1970–71 and thereafter reached the peak of 4.26% in 2000–01.
However, it declined to 3.49% in 2004–05. There is a definite need to step-up again.
As a proportion of total government expenditure, it has declined from around 11.1%
in 2000–2001 to around 9.98% during UPA rule, even though ideally it should be
around 20% of the total budget. A policy brief issued by [Network for Social
Accountability (NSA)] titled "[NSA Response to Education Sector Interventions in
Union Budget: UPA Rule and the Education Sector] " provides significant revelation
to this fact. Due to a declining priority of education in the public policy paradigm in
India, there has been an exponential growth in the private expenditure on education
also. [As per the available information, the private out of pocket expenditure by the
working class population for the education of their children in India has increased by
around 1150 per cent or around 12.5 times over the last decade].
RTE

Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

Every child between the ages of 6 to 14 years has the right to free and compulsory
education. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act via Article
21A. The Right to Education Act seeks to give effect to this amendment

The government schools shall provide free education to all the children and the
schools will be managed by School Management Committees (SMC). Private
schools shall admit at least 25% of the children in their schools without any fee.

The National Commission for Elementary Education shall be constituted to monitor

all aspects of elementary education including quality.

Main Features of Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009

 Free and compulsory education to all children of India in the 6 to 14 age

group.
 No child shall be held back, expelled or required to pass a board examination
until the completion of elementary education.
 If a child above 6 years of age has not been admitted in any school or could
not complete his or her elementary education, then he or she shall be
admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age. However, if a case may be
where a child is directly admitted in the class appropriate to his or her age,
then, in order to be at par with others, he or she shall have a right to receive
special training within such time limits as may be prescribed. Provided further
that a child so admitted to elementary education shall be entitled to free
education till the completion of elementary education even after 14 years.
 Proof of age for admission: For the purpose of admission to elementary
education, the age of a child shall be determined on the basis of the birth
certificate issued in accordance with the Provisions of Birth. Deaths and
Marriages Registration Act 1856, or on the basis of such other document as
may be prescribed. No child shall be denied admission in a school for lack of
age proof
 A child who completes elementary education shall be awarded a certificate.
 Call need to be taken for a fixed student–teacher ratio.
 Twenty-five per cent reservation for economically disadvantaged communities
in admission to Class I in all private schools is to be done.
 Improvement in the quality of education is important.
 School teachers will need adequate professional degree within five years or
else will lose job.
 School infrastructure (where there is a problem) need to be improved in every
3 years, else recognition will be cancelled.
 Financial burden will be shared between the state and the central
government.
The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
Amendment Act, 2000:

The main objective of the Act is to regulate and prevent the pre-natal sex
determination in order to prevent female foeticide.

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (Amended in 1986), 1956:

This act with respect to children deals with person(s) who procure or attempt to
procure any child for prostitution or person(s) who are found with a child in a brothel
(it is presumed child has been detained for the purpose of prostitution) and punishes
them. It also provides for the due care of rescued children.

Indian Penal Code, 1860:

The Indian Penal Code by its various sections specifically protects children and their
rights. Some of these sections are:

o S.83: Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven

years of age and under twelve, who has not attained sufficient
maturity of understanding to judge of the nature and
consequences of his conduct on that occasion.
o S.292 & 293: Selling, distribution, publishing, public exhibition or
circulation of obscene material such as books, magazines,
drawings, paintings, etc. is prohibited under Section 292.
Whoever sells, lets to hire, distributes, exhibits or circulates to
any person under the age of twenty years any such obscene
object as is referred to in Section 292, or offers or attempts so to
do, shall be punished more severely.
o S.305: Abetment of the commission of suicide of a person below
the age of 18 years is punishable under this section.
o S.317: Abandonment or exposure of a child for the purpose of
abandonment by any of the parents or a person having the care
of such child is a punishable offence.
o S.361: This section deals with punishing offenders who kidnap a
child (male if below 16 years of age and female if below 18 years
of age).
o S.363A: Kidnapping or maiming children for the purpose of
begging has been stated to be a punishable offence under this
section.
o S.366A: Inducing of a minor girl under the age of 18 years to do
any act that may force or seduce her to illicit intercourse with
another person is punishable under S.366A.
 o S.366B: It is an punishable offence to import a girl under 21
years of age into India from a country outside India or from
Jammu and Kashmir intending that she may be forced or
seduced to illicit intercourse with another person.
o S.369: Kidnapping a child under the age of 10 years with the
intention to steal from such child is an offence.
o S.372 & 373: Selling, buying or hiring a person under 18 years of
age for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any
person, or for any unlawful or immoral purpose is a punishable
offence.
o S.375: A man is said to commit “rape” if has sexual intercourse
with a woman with or without her consent when she is under the
age of 16 years.
o S.376: The section provides for stringent punishments if:
 rape is committed by management or staff of Remand
Home or any other place of custody established by law
or children’s institution,
 rape is committed upon a woman under 12 years of
age,
 gang rape is committed.

o S.376C: When the Superintendent or manager of a remand

home or any other place of custody established under law of
‘children’s institution’ induces or seduces a woman into sexual
intercourse by taking advantage of his official position, he is
entitled to stringent punishment under this section.

These sections specifically protect the rights of children. Other sections applicable to
punish offenders for a crime can also be invoked to protect the children against such
offenders.

Probation of Offenders Act, 1958:

This act with the help of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 tries to ensure that no person
under the age of 21 years faces imprisonment.

National Policy for Children, 1974:

It is the first written policy for the children in India. It aims at providing better
enforcement of constitutional rights of the children along with those granted by the
CRC. Some of the provisions include free education, comprehensive health and
nutritious plans, etc.
Convention on the Rights of Child, 1989:
Adopted by the United Nations in 1989, the CRC is an international agreement
legally binding on the parties signatory to it. It has incorporated in its various articles
rights of children without any discrimination whatsoever. It was ratified by India on 11
December 1992. It has a preamble setting out different principles the CRC is built
upon.

It is based on four basic principles:

1. Non-discrimination (Article 2)
2. Best Interest of the Child (Article 3)
3. Right to Life Survival and Development (Article 6)
4. Right to be Heard (Article 12)

The provisions of the CRC have been categorised as:

1. PART I (Article 1-41): It sets out the rights of children and obligations of
governments. The rights can further be categorised as:
o Survival Rights: the right to life of child and access to basic
necessities to existence such as adequate food, shelter, standard
of living and medical requirements.
o Development Rights: the right to education, to practice the
religion of own choice and cultural activities, freedom of thought
and conscience, to play and leisure and to access to information.
o Protection Rights: rights that protect children from abuses
which may be consequential to several kinds of circumstances,
such as children subject to procedures of criminal justice system,
children in employment, children who are refugees, children who
have undergone abuse or exploitation.
o Participation Rights: rights of children to participate in activities
of the society, especially matters that may affect their life, to
assemble peacefully and to join associations.

2. PART II (Article 42-45): It contains provisions regarding implementation of

the provisions of the CRC.
 3. PART III (Articles 46-54): It includes provisions for signing the convention
by parties and rules and procedures thereafter for the purpose of
ratification, enforceability, amendment, denouncement, etc. of the
convention.

Three Optional Protocols to the CRC have been introduced which are:

 Optional Protocol to CRC on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child

Pornography.
 Optional Protocol to CRC on the involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a
Communications Procedure.

As of now India has not signed the third optional protocol.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976:

The act aims at eradicating the bonded labour system in India which
exploits the weaker sections of society, especially children.

National Health Policy, 2002:

This is the second National Health Policy, after the first in 1983. The policy
provides for Universal Immunization Programmes, health care related
education in schools and free regular health check-ups at schools etc.

How to report a child abuse

 The first and foremost step to be taken for a child in distress is giving moral
support to him or her. It is essential for children to be supported and
brought back into their comfort zone if they have been subjected to abuse.
 Police may be contacted on their hotline number, i.e., 100 for immediate
assistance. Thereafter, a complaint can be made with the Police by lodging
a FIR at the nearest Police Station.
 The Police, upon lodging of the FIR, starts the investigation if such
cognizable offence as reported was committed under the jurisdiction of the
Police Station where FIR was lodged.
 If the cognizable offence was not committed under the jurisdiction of the
said Police Station, the police shall register a zero FIR and send it to the
Police Station having jurisdiction over the matters of the place where the
offence was committed. The Police Station with appropriate jurisdiction
commences the investigation.
  Photographs or video clips or voice recordings of the child abuse may be
taken as evidence and shared with Police in order to strengthen the case
against the accused. Such kind of evidence shall not be circulated,
transmitted or made available to anyone except the authorities or the court
(for the purpose of proof) in cases relating to sexual offences against the
children and identity of the victim shall not be disclosed to the public or
unauthorised people.
 If it so happens the police station refuses to lodge an FIR or to record any
information, a copy of such information shall be sent to the Superintendent
of the Police or the Assistant Commissioner of Police in writing, along with
the statement that the approached Police Station refused to lodge the FIR
or record the information in question. A copy of the writing must also be
sent to the Commissioner of Police, the Deputy Commissioner of Police
and the Senior Police Inspector.
 Alternatively, ChildLine can be approached by dialling 1098 to report any
child abuse and seek assistance. ChildLine India Foundation is the nodal
agency of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development acting as
the parent organisation for setting up, managing and monitoring the
CHILDLINE 1098 service all over the country. It is toll-free and 24 hours
accessible number.
 Various NGOs are working for the protection of rights of children; their help
may be taken to secure the rights of children or to bring to justice the
offenders who infringe such rights. Some of the reputed NGOs working for
the welfare of children are HAQCRC, Cry, etc.
 After official reporting of abuse and lodging of FIR, the matter goes to
competent court and case is initiated by the State against the accused.

Conclusion: Working in collaboration with families, researchers, cultural

institutions, and all other stakeholders, these groups can eliminate inefficiencies,
reach beyond the walls of traditional classrooms, and form strong partnerships to
support everywhere, all-the-time learning.
Case Laws

1. P. Unni Krishnan vs. State of Andhra Pradesh:

)Parts III and IV of the Constitution are supplementary to each other. Unless the
'right to education' mentioned in Article 41 is made a reality, the fundamental rights in Part
III will remain beyond the reach of the illiterate majority,

(e)Article 21 has been interpreted by this Court to include the right to live with human
dignity and all that goes along with it. "The 'right to education' flows directly from right to
life.' In other words, 'right to education' is concomitant to the fundamental right enshrined
in Part III of the Constitution. The State is under a constitutional mandate to
provide educational institutions at all levels for the benefit of citizens." The benefit
of education cannot be confined to either classes.

The said fact has also been affirmed by eminent educationists of modern India like Dr.
Radhakrishnan, J.P. Naik, Dr. Kothari and others.

44.It is argued by some of the counsel for the petitioners that Article 21 is negative an
character and that it merely declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal
liberty except according to the procedure established by law. Since the State is not depriving
the respondents-students of their right to education, Article 21 is not attracted, it is
submitted. If and when the State makes a law taking away the right to education,
would Article 21 be attracted, according to them. This argument, in our opinion, is really
born of confusion; at any rate, it is designed to confuse the issue. The first question is
whether the right to life guaranteed by Article 21 does take in the right to education or not.
It is then that the second question arises whether the State is taking away that right. The
mere, fact that the State is not taking away the right as at present does not mean
that right to education is not included within the right to life. The content of the right is not
determined by perception of threat. The content of right to life is not to be determined on the
basis of existence or absence of threat of deprivation. The effect of holding
that right to education is implicit in the right to fife is that the State cannot deprive the
citizen of his right to education except in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.

45.In the above state of law, it would not be correct to contend that Mohini Jain was wrong in
so far as it declared that "the right to education flows directly from right to life.' But the
question is what is the content of this right? How much and what level of education is
necessary to make the life meaningful? Does it mean that every citizen of this country can
call upon the State to provide him education of his choice? In other words, whether the
citizens of this country can demand that the State provide adequate number of medical
colleges, engineering colleges and other educational institutions to satisfy all
their educational needs? Mohini Jain seems to say, yes. With respect, we cannot agree with
such a broad proposition. The right to education which is implicit in the right to fife and
personal liberty guarenteed by Article 21 must be construed in the fight of the directive
principles in Part IV of the Constitution So far as the right to education is concerned, there
are several articles in Part IV which expressly speak of it. Article 41 says that the "State shall
within the limits of its economic capacity and development make effective provision for
securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment,
old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of underserved want.' Article 45 says
that "the State shau endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the
commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until
they complete the age of fourteen years.' Article 46 commands that 'the State shall promote
with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the
people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect
them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation." Education means knowledge and
Knowledge itself is power.' As rightly observed by Johan Adams, 'the preservation of means
of knowledge among the lowest ranks is of more importance to the public than all the
property of all the rich men in the country" (Dissertation on canon and fuedal law, 1765). It is
this concern which seems to underlie Article 46. It is the tyrants and bad rulers who are afraid
of spread of education and knowledge among the deprived classes. Witness Hitler railing
against universal education. He said: 'Universal education is the most corroding and
disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction.' (Rauschning,
The voice of destruction: Hider speaks). A true democracy is one where education is
universal where people understand what Is good for them and nation and know how to
govern themselves. The three articles 45, 46 and 41 are designed to achieve the said goal
among others. It is in the light of these articles that the content and parameters of
the right to education have to be determined. Right to education understood in the context
of Articles 45 and 41, means. (a) every child/citizen of this country has a right to
free education until he completes the age of fourteen years and (b) after a child/citizen
completes 14years, his right to education is circumscribed by the limits of the economic
capacity of the State and its development We may deal with both these limbs
separately. Right to free education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen
years (45-A). It is noteworthy that among the several articles in part IV, only Article
45 speaks of a time-limit; no other article does. Has it no significance? Is it a mere pious
wish, even after 44 years of the Constitution? Can the State flout the said direction even after
44 years on the ground that the article merely calls upon it to "endeavour to provide" the
same and on the further ground that the said article is not enforceable by virtue of the
declaration in Article 37. Does not the passage of 44 years more than four times the period
stipulated in Article 45 convert the obligation created by the article into an enforceable right?
In this context, we feel constrained to say that allocation of available funds to different
sectors of education in India discloses an inversion of priorities indicated by the
Constitution. The Constitution contemplated a crash programme being undertaken by the
State to achieve the goal set out in Article 45. It is relevant to notice that Article 45 does not
speak of the limits of its economic capacity and development' as does Article 41, which inter
alia speaks of right to education. What has actually happened is more money is spent and
more attention is directed to higher education that to and at the cost of primary education.
(By primary education, we mean the education, which a normal child receives by the time
he completes 14 years of age). Neglected more so are the rural sectors, and the weaker
sections of the society referred to in Article 46. We clarify, we are not seeking to lay down
the priorities for the government we are only amphasising the constitutional policy as
disclosed by Articles 45, 46 and 41. Surely the wisdom of these constitutional provisions is
beyond question. This inversion of priorities has been commended upon adversely by both
the educationists and economists. Gunnar Myrdal the noted economist and sociologist, a
recognised authority on South Asia, in his book "Asian Drama" (abridged Edition published
in 1972) makes these perceptive observations at page 335:

PART V

80. For the above reasons the Writ Petitions and Civil Appeals except (W.P. (C) 855/92, C.A.
3573/92 and the Civil Appeals arising from S.L.Ps. 13913 and 13940/92) are disposed of in
the following terms:

1. The citizens of this country have a fundamental right to education. The said right flows
from Article 21. This right is, however, not an absolute right. Its content and para meters
have to be determined in the light of Articles 45 and 41. In other words every child/citizen of
this country has a right to free education until he completes the age of fourteen years.
Thereafter his right to education is subject to the limits of economic capacity and
development of the State.
 2. Vinay N. Pandya vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors. on 4
October, 2005

The learned Counsel submitted that in view of these constitutional provisions and in
view of the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, right to education is
fundamental right or is a occupation, and therefore, students who are at the age
from 6 to 14 have a fundamental right to education under Article 21A of the
Constitution of India and also those students have also a right to education/right to
occupation of education among all students and in support of the same. Mr. Girish
R. Patel, learned Advocate has relied upon following decisions of the Hon'ble
Supreme Court.

Right to education :- It is universally accepted that education empowers that

people for full development of human personality, strengthens the respect for
human rights, and helps to overcome exploitation and the traditional inequalities of
caste, class and gender. Learning liberates from ignorance, superstition, and
prejudice that blind the vision of truth. (Citing from Sanskrit text, per Mohan, J. in J.P.
Unnikrishnan v State of A.P., ) According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the process
of education is the slow conquering of darkness of faults in our inward being. "To
lead us from darkness to light, to free us from every kind of domination except that of
reason, is the aim of education" (Report of the University Education Commission
1948 cited in T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka and . It is a preparation for
living in a better way in future with an ability to participate successfully in the modern
economy and society. (Brown v. Board of Education, 98 L Ed US 347 (1954); 98 L
Ed 873; 347 US 483 (1954)). As viewed by B.N. Kirpal, C.J. it is the single most
powerful tool for the upliftment and progress of the society. (T.M.A. Pai Foundation v.
State of Karnataka. 2002 (4) LR 1 : 2002 (8) Scale 1. at 12.) Education is
empowerment for socio-economic mobility, an instrument for reducing socio-
economic inequalities, and an equipment to trigger growth and development. There
has been a paradigm shift in this sphere : from education as a transcendental and
metaphysical value to education as a market value, and from
subsidized education to cost recovery system. The features such as
commodification of education, private sector's dominance in higher education, and
market-driven education flowing from world trade law stand juxtaposed to the fact
that largest pool of illiterates is in India and high drop-outs of students even at
primary level here is owing to economic reasons. The linkage
of right to education to right to dignified life, equality, freedom and cultural and
minority right has made it highly intricate and the extent of regulations relating to it
from different perspectives, quite complex. - (Re. - Book of P. Ishwara Bhat -
Fundamental Rights - A Study of Their Inter-relationship, page 305).

The learned author has thereafter, considered the right to education with reference
to Part IV-Directive Principle of State Policy and Articles 21 and 14 as well
as right to education and rights under Articles 19, 21, 26, 29 and 30 and
also right to education and right to equality. After considering the same, the
learned author has considered and summed up the decision at page 312 which is as
under :

"In sum, the increased focus on the phenomenon of knowledge based work and its
emergent socio-economic and cultural dimensions have put the knowledge
dissemination process at the centre of interactions of several rights and freedoms,
making them more meaningful and in turn reinforcing educational right. (Re. - Book
of P. Ishwara Bhat, page 312).

In this matter, I have referred to the provisions of Primary Education and also
provisions of Central Board Regulations. Over and above, I have also
considered Article 21A viz., fundamental right to education and also judgments in
the case of Mohini Jain (supra) and in the case of Unni Krishnan (supra). It may be
noted that in this judgments, I have referred to important Paras of the judgments.
However, with a view to see that the judgment may not, be unnecessarily burdened,
I have only referred certain Paras which also deal with the right to education. I have
also considered the judgments in the case of T.M.A. Pai Foundation, Modern School
and also in the case of P.R. Inamdar. In these also, important paras I have quoted,
but other Paras I have referred. The Committee will consider the same. I have also
shortly stated what about the education, the Committee will consider that aspect
also. In this behalf, I hope and trust that Committee will consider the same in true
letter and spirit with an idea that the educational institute is entitled to charge
reasonable fees in future, but nonetheless in charging fees, there should not be a
commercialisation of education. This twin aspect will be considered by the
Committee and other principles laid down in this behalf. The Committee will give
report in two months from the commencement of working. It will be open for the
Committee to look after the Parent-Students Association, representatives of
management of school. The Committee shall look into questions relating to the
process fee being charged by the school on account of development fee, uniform
fees, books and stationery etc.

Suggestion

The Government should increase the funding for education to 6 percent of GDP as in
NEP 2020. As part of their CSR activities, the private sector can play a key role in
developing schooling infrastructure, particularly in rural areas.
Reference

3. https://ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ENG-Briefing-
Paper_Sexual-Exploitation-of-Children-in-
India_FINAL_30November2021.pdf

4. https://acadpubl.eu/hub/2018-120-5/4/358.pdf