Page 38 - Mayo College November 2025

Cover Story

Right to Education Act, 2009

ver 60
years
after the
Oframers of
India’s Constitution
directed the State to
“make effective provi-
sion for securing the
right to work, to educa-
tion…” (Article 41), on
August 14, 2009, the Lok
Sabha unanimously passed
the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education
Bill, 2009 (aka RTE Act). The
Act makes it incumbent upon the State
to provide free and compulsory education
to all children aged between six to 14 years. While the
RTE Act was widely welcomed, s.12 (1) (c) of the Act, which
mandates all private unaided schools to reserve 25 percent
of capacity in class I for children from poor households in
their neighbourhood and retain them until class VIII, drew
criticism for encouraging “creeping nationalisation” of private
schools.
The high promise RTE Act which came into force on April
1, 2010, legitimises blatant discrimination against private
schools. For instance, s.19 prescribes a wide range of manda-
tory infrastructure provisions for private schools, but exempts
1.20 million government schools from adhering to them.
Moreover, s.12 (2) of the Act, which directs (state) govern-
ments to pay private schools the per-child expense incurred
by government in its own schools to compensate them for
providing free-of-charge education under s.12 (1) (c), has
resulted in cash-strapped state governments owing schools
thousands of crores. For instance, in Maharashtra, private
schools are owed Rs.2,000 crore by way of s.12 (2) reim-
bursement.
See www.educationworld.in Archives (‘RTE shadow over
India’s most admired schools’ — October 2010)

38 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2025