Right to Education Act, 2009

Background and evolution

The 86th Amendment of 2002 made elementary education a Fundamental Right under Article 21A, but it needed a law to set out how the right would be delivered. After several drafts, Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act in August 2009, and it came into force on 1 April 2010. While Article 21A states the right, this page focuses on the Act's operational design: who must do what, which norms schools must meet and how compliance is checked.

Key features and provisions

• Free education (Section 3): no fee, charge or expense that may prevent a child from completing elementary education.
• Age-appropriate admission (Section 4): out-of-school children are admitted to a class suited to their age and given special training to catch up.
• Neighbourhood schools (Section 6): governments must ensure a school within a defined area, generally within 1 km for primary and 3 km for upper primary, under state rules.
• Duties of governments (Sections 7–9): sharing financial responsibility between Centre and states, providing infrastructure, teachers and training, and monitoring admission, attendance and completion.
• Private schools (Section 12(1)(c)): private unaided and specified category schools must reserve at least 25% of seats in the entry class for children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, with fees reimbursed by the State.
• No capitation or screening (Section 13): no capitation fee and no screening procedure for admission.
• No denial for documents (Sections 14–15): lack of age proof or late arrival cannot be grounds for denying admission.
• No physical punishment or mental harassment (Section 17).
• Recognition (Section 18–19): schools must meet norms in the Schedule, including pupil–teacher ratios of 30:1 at primary and 35:1 at upper primary, a building with all-weather classrooms, separate toilets for girls and boys, drinking water, a playground and a library.
• School Management Committees (Section 21): three-quarters of members must be parents or guardians, with half women, preparing school development plans.
• Teachers (Sections 23–28): minimum qualifications set by the NCTE, ban on private tuition by teachers, and limits on non-educational duties to census, disaster relief and elections.
• Curriculum and evaluation (Section 29): child-friendly learning; no board examination until completion of elementary education.
• Monitoring (Section 31): National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights.