A Directive Principle that, since the 86th Amendment of 2002, asks the State to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete six years of age.
In 1950, Article 45 set one of the Constitution's most ambitious targets: the State was to "endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years", free and compulsory education for all children until they completed fourteen years. It was the only Directive Principle with a deadline. The target was missed by a wide margin; by the 1990s, millions of children were still out of school.
The courts and Parliament eventually moved elementary education from a principle to a right. After the Supreme Court read a right to education into Article 21 in Unni Krishnan (1993), the 86th Amendment of 2002 created Article 21A for ages six to fourteen. At the same time it rewrote Article 45 to cover the years before school: "The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years." This shifted attention to the earliest and most important stage of human development.
Create a free account to read 5 full pages a month, or upgrade for unlimited access. The definition above, the A–Z index and the pop-up definitions in lessons stay free.
