By Abhishek Jain, Head, Public Policy at Mantra4Change.
Historical Background to the Right to Education
The right to education refers to every person’s right to access quality education. It is a human right that is expressly recognised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (‘UDHR’)1 as a right available to all wherein “education shall be free at the elementary and fundamental stages”, and further that elementary education shall be compulsory2.
In India, there were 2 landmark judgments by the Supreme Court (the apex court of India) that ultimately led to the elevation of the right to education as a fundamental right, Mohini Jain vs State of Karnataka, 19923 and Unni Krishnan vs State of Andhra Pradesh, 19934. The Supreme Court ruled that the right to education was concomitant to the other fundamental rights, and it was subsumed within a joint reading of Article 21 and the directive principles of state policy.
Subsequently the state through the Ministry of Human Resource and Development set up the Tapas Majumdar Committee in 1999 to evaluate among other things whether the right to elementary education should be made a fundamental right. Ultimately, on December 12, 2002, the Indian Constitution was amended via the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, to include Article 21A, which mandates that “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”.
Thereafter, to realise these obligations the state introduced and enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which was enacted on August 26, 2009 (‘RTE Act’) and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules on April 8, 2010 (‘RTE Rules’).
Scoping the fundamental Right to Education
While the right to education – more specifically the right to free and compulsory elementary education is a right that has been guaranteed as a fundamental right by the Constitution and as a human right under the UDHR, it is imperative to understand the contours and limits of this right.
The Constitution expressly clarifies that the scope of elementary education covered under the fundamental ‘right to education’ would be limited to education for a child between the age of 6-14 years. Further, it is essential to note that the Constitution expressly clarifies that the states obligation regarding the provision of free and compulsory education would be “in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”5. Which implies that while the state can qualify the right to free and compulsory elementary education through statutory legislations such as and including through the RTE Act and underlying RTE Rules.
To this end the RTE Act (and underlying the RTE Rules), nuances the fundamental right to education as the right of every child of the age of six to fourteen years, “to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till the completion of his or her elementary education”6. It creates several facets within the meaning of the broader right thereby also imposing allied obligations on the state. These cover a very broad range from accessibility to schools7, quality education8, prohibition on discrimination9, maximising opportunity in the hands of the child to complete their education10 etc.11 Having broadly scoped the right to education, the next question is whether or not the right is an absolute right.
Is the fundamental Right to Education in India an absolute right?
Outside of the contours that have already been created by the RTE Act and the RTE Rules, it is pertinent to note that the Constitution expressly limits the states obligations in relation to the right to education to “within the limits of its economic capacity and development”12. On a superficial glance this might appear to be a means to limit the responsibility/duty of the state towards providing/ securing the right to education. Interestingly, however, it is in line with the positive obligation on states pursuant to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 196613 which stipulates that states shall “take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures”14, 15.
A harmonious purposive interpretation of the obligation would imply that the state is required to undertake its best efforts to secure and realise the right to education within the limitations of only its capacity i.e., it has an absolute positive obligation to take necessary actions to secure and realise the right to education.
Conclusion
The recognition of education as a fundamental right in India marked a decisive shift from aspiration to enforceable commitment, creating a guiding framework for all education efforts. This right, however, is not static but a living obligation that must continually adapt to social, cultural, political, technological, and economic change. Realising its promise demands sustained investment, innovation, and strong governance, alongside a constant re‑imagination of strategies to truly fulfil the right to education in both letter and spirit.
* By Abhishek Jain, Head, Public Policy at Mantra4Change.
* AI Use Declaration: Assistance of AI tools was taken for analysis and copy-editing of this blog.
1 While India is a signatory to the UDHR, that does not create any legal obligations for India, since the UDHR is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for countries.
2 Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 (‘UDHR’) (accessible here).
3 1992 SCC (3) 666
4 (1993) 1 SCC 645
5 Article 21A of the Constitution.
6 Section 3(1) of the RTE Act.
7 For instance, Rule 6 of the RTE Rules defines the contours of a ‘neighborhood school’ so as to ensure that the school is accessible to the child and ideally within the same neighborhood as their place of residence
8 For instance, Rules 15 and 17 of the RTE Rules, provide for certain quality controls on schools and teachers.
9 For instance, Sections 8 and 9 of the RTE Act, place an obligation on the state to ensure that the child belonging to weaker sections and the child belonging to disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds.
10 For instance, Section 4 of the RTE Act, extends the right to education beyond the age of 14 years, i.e., if a child was admitted to elementary education has not completed their elementary education by the time they age 14 years, they will be entitled to continue the same even beyond the age of 14 years and the right will extend till the completion of their elementary education.
11 This is merely an indicative list to provide some facets that have been introduced by the RTE Act and RTE Rules.
12 Article 41 of the Constitution
13 India has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966, on April 10, 1979.
14 Article 2(1) read with 13(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966
15 Pursuant to Article 51 of the Constitution of India, 1949 accessible here, the state is expected to “foster respect for international law and treaty obligations”, evidently, a harmonious reading of Articles 21A and 41 is in line with the spirit of those under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966