Q. Consider the following statements with reference to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act:
1. The Act seeks to give effect to the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002.
2. The Act mandates private schools to reserve 25% of their seats in elementary classes for the students belonging to Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.
3. The Act mandates the No Detention Policy for the children till the elementary classes.
How many of the above-given statements are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is correct: Right to Education Act (RTE) provides free and compulsory education to children and enforces it as a fundamental right under Article 21-A. The RTE Act makes it mandatory for the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children from the age of 6 to 14 years. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act via Article 21A. The Right to Education Act seeks to give effect to this amendment.
Statements 2 is incorrect: The Act required government schools to provide free and compulsory education to all admitted children. Section 12(1)(mandates that nonminority private unaided schools should reserve at least 25% of seats in entry-level grades for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged backgrounds (and not only the students from the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes).
Statement 3 is incorrect: Earlier, as per the Section 16 of the RTE Act, 2009, “no child could be held back or expelled till the completion of elementary education” which was famously known as “no detention policy” However, the “No Detention Policy” has been removed under The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2019.
