Govt allows compulsory education for children

The landmark Right to Education Act, providing free and equal educational opportunities to all children between the age of six and 14, today came into force with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledging that enough money would be flowed in to make the right to universal education a reality in the country.

“Our government, in partnership with state governments, will ensure that financial constraints do not hamper the implementation of the Right to Education Act,” he said in his address to the nation today as the Act came into force.

The Prime Minister’s appeal to the states comes amid the difference between the Centre and states over sharing the expenditure on school education.

According to the present arrangement, the Centre spends 55 per cent while the states pay the remaining 45 per cent, a ratio the Centre wants to reverse.

“Our government at the Centre, in the states and Union Territories, and at the district and village level must work together as part of a common national endeavour. I call upon all the state governments to join in this national effort with full resolve and determination,” the Prime Minister added.

He also urged teachers to become partners in making universal education a success. “The success of any educational endeavour is based on the ability and motivation of teachers. The implementation of the Right to Education Act is no exception. I call upon all our teachers to become partners in this effort,” the PM pointed out.

He also underlined the need to improve the “working conditions of our teachers and enable them to teach with dignity, giving full expression to their talent and creativity”.

The Prime Minister referred to his own childhood when he had to walk a long distance to school. “I read under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. I am what I am today because of education,” he said.

He admitted that though a revolutionary like Gopal Krishna Gokhale had asked for universal education as a right 90 years ago, it could become a reality only now.

The PM said the fundamental right to education, as incorporated in our Constitution under Article 21 A, demonstrates “our national commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India”.