Right to Education and Human Rights in India

After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) several countries in the world incorporated the elementary education as a basic right.This book emphasized right to education as basic human rights in the twenty first century. The Constitution of India Eighty Sixth Amendment Act has incorporated Right to Education Article 21 A in Part-III of the constitution. Article 21 A of the Indian Constitution reads: “the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may by law determine” (Constitution of India).The Government of India from time to time through various schemes and programmes has taken special efforts in assuring the enrollment of the children in the regular schools. Innovative schemes in the sector of elementary education were introduced following the National Policy on Education in 1986. These programmes were later brought under SSA in 2003. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan means education for all (Rani 2006: 432). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is officially called Right to Education (RTE) and it is the Hindi translation of the term RTE (Right to Education).