KEY TRENDS 

• Every child of the age of six to fourteen years shall have a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education*

• No child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing the elementary education*

• For carrying out the provisions of this Act, the appropriate Government and the local authority shall establish, within such area or limits of neighbourhood, as may be prescribed, a school, where it is not so established, within a period of three years from the commencement of this Act*

• The Central Government and the State Government shall have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of this Act*

• The Central Government shall prepare the estimates of capital and recurring expenditure for the implementation of the provisions of the Act*

• The Central Government shall—(a) develop a framework of national curriculum with the help of academic  authority specified under section 29; (b) develop and enforce standards for training of teachers; (c) provide technical support and resources to the State Government for promoting innovations, researches, planning and capacity building*

• Every local authority shall ensure that the child belonging to weaker section and the child belonging to disadvantaged group are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds*

• The local authority shall provide infrastructure including school building, teaching staff and learning material*

• No school or person shall, while admitting a child, collect any capitation fee and subject the child or his or her parents or guardian to any screening procedure. In case a school charges capitation fee, it shall be punishable with fine which may extend to ten times the capitation fee charged*

• No child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment*

• No child admitted in a school shall be held back in any class or expelled from school till the completion of elementary education*

• A school, other than a school specified in sub-clause (iv) of clause (n) of section 2, shall constitute a School Management Committee consisting of the elected representatives of the local authority, parents or guardians of children admitted in such school and teachers*

• Article 21A, as inserted by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such manner as the State may, by law, determine*

* The Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 http://www.esocialsciences.com/data/articles/Document12772009230.3466761.pdf

Please note that information about education as a category of Human Development Index and many more related themes is also given under "Hunger/ HDI" section of the im4change website. For best results, please check out both sections. Click here:

http://www.im4change.org/articles.php?articleId=50