Right to Education in India: A Dream or A Reality?

Abstract

The Annual Status of The Education Report of 20182 , having conducted a survey on 546,527 children aged between 3 to 16, who were chosen from 354,944 households of 596 districts in rural India, presents a positive picture of the situation. The statistics of the report unravel that a proportion of children between the age group of 3 to 16, not enrolled in the school, had fallen from 3% to 2.8% in 2018. The survey also showed that girls between the age group of 11 to 14 who were absent from the school has fallen to 4.1% from 10.3% in the year 2006. However, an upward trajectory reflected in the status report of 2018 purports to be a positive growth but practically failed to reach the expected growth both in enrolment ratio and quality education to all. Universal quality education is the primordial importance of the state machinery. Inadequate ratio between teacher and pupil, low budget allocation by the Government towards strengthening the education, poor implementation of the Education Policies, high taboo system towards female education in the remote areas, lack of skill and job-oriented education in the schools, illiteracy and lack of motivation by the parents towards education etc. are some of the reasons for slow progress of right to education in India. Gradual downward move in the public expenditure by converting education to be a private sector could also be one of the reasons for its downfall. The governments, ever since the introduction of Liberalization, Globalization and Privatization (LPG) in 1991, have failed to accomplish the goal of right to education with suitable provisions of free education under its fiscal policies. In this research article, while elucidating the system of education developed through the centuries beginning from ancient times till date, analysis will be done on how far the right to education to all has fulfilled its dream.