Q. Consider the following statements regarding the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002:
1. It made the ‘Right to Education’ a Fundamental Right under Part III of the Constitution.
2. It made ‘education for all children between the age of six to fourteen years’ a Directive Principle under Part IV of the Constitution.
3. It added a new fundamental duty under Article 51A of the Constitution.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act made ‘education for all’ a fundamental right.
Statement 1 is correct: The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 made ‘Right to Education’ a fundamental right. It inserted a new Article 21-A under Part III of the Constitution which provides that the “State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years”.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The 86th Amendment Act also changed the subject matter of Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) under Article 45, to provide that “the State shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years”. Hence, the DPSP pertains to only children up to 6 years of age.
Statement 3 is correct: The 86th Amendment Act also added a new Fundamental Duty under Article 51A. It states that “it shall be the duty of every citizen of India who is a parent or a guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or ward between the age of 6-14 years”. Hence, the given statement is correct.
