Indian Perspective on Child's Right to Education

AbstractPurpose of Study: The education system does not function in isolation from the society of which it is a part. Unequal social, economic and power equations, deeply influence children's access to education and their participation in the learning process. This is evident in the disparities in education access and attainment between different social and economic groups in India. There were an estimated eight million 6 to 14 year-olds in India out-of-school in 2009. The world cannot reach its goal to have every child complete primary school by 2015 without India. In 2010, India implemented the Right to Education Act (RTE), to legally support inclusive education. Today, 18 crore children are taught by almost 57 lakh teachers in more than 12 lakh primary and upper primary schools across the country. This notable spatial spread and physical access has, however, not been supported by satisfactory curricular interventions, including teaching learning materials, training designs, assessment systems, classroom practices, and suitable infrastructure. The present paper attempts to: (a) Understand the Indian perspective on child's right to education, (b) Analyse the feasibility of RTE and highlight the challenges in its implementation in India, (c) Present Case Studies to describe the present Indian scenario in education for the marginalised children in two progressive states of India that have the potential to show a way for the rest of the country.In this study, the common issues that emerged, in deterring inclusion in two states of India were: attitudinal barriers, lack of awareness of the legal provisions and subsequent schemes, accessibility of schools being meagre, lack of necessary infrastructure, lack of and retention of trained staff adaptation of curriculum and materials and lack of control systems.Though India has taken ownership for inclusive education by establishing legal provisions through theRTE, several issues continue to be faced. While many innovative programmes have been initiated, a stronger partnership between the government and the common man together is what is required to bring about the desired difference