“Compulsory primary education in India”, write an analytical opinion about.

“The old order changeth , yielding place to new. Lest one custom should corrupt the whole
world.”
The above line symbolizes that in a country where transport is fast ,communication even
faster and trade at the click of mouse , in that country compulsory primary education is the
need of the hour.
In eulogizing India, primary education plays a pivot for the better future of our nation.
Attempts to make free and compulsory education accessible to Indian children began a little
more than a century ago. A strong consciousness for the need of free and compulsory Primary
Education in India was highly moved by enactment of the Compulsory Education act in 1870
in England. Education has been formally recognized as a human right since the adoption of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR) in 1948.This has since then been
reaffirmed in numerous global human rights treaties. Ultimately , universalization of
elementary education has been one of the most important goals of educational development
in India since independence. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
(RTE Act), 2009 , came into force from April 1,2010 , pursuant to the Eighty-sixth
Amendment to the Constitution of India (2002) , which guarantees elementary education as a
fundamental right. Education in the Indian constitution is a concurrent issue and both center
and states can legislate on the issue. The RTE act lays down specific responsibilities for the
centre , state and local bodies for implementation. ​The right to education is a fundamental
human right. The access to education is also ​required​ for the promotion and protection of all
human rights. Adopted on September 26, 1924, by the League of Nations, the Geneva
Declaration of the Rights of the Child ​states​: ​“The child must be brought up in the
consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of fellow men.”​ It further
states: ​“The child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both
materially and spiritually.”

India is a populous country with vast differences in economic resources, social

hierarchies, and cultural traditions across states. Rajasthan has one of the lowest
literacy rates (a total of 66.11% – with a male literacy rate of 79.19 % and a female
literacy rate of 52.12 % ). Haryana has a slightly better performance on this indicator
(an aggregate score of 75.55 % – with a male literacy rate of 84.06 % and a female
literacy rate of 65.94 % in 2011). Punjab’s literacy rates was 75.84 % in 2011 – 80.44
% for males and 70.73 % for females. Uttar Pradesh has a 67.68 % literacy rate –
77.28 % for males and 57.18 % for females.

Cultural practices play a part an important in determining the enrolment and

retention of girls in education institutions. Boys are often seen as having the greatest
potential to provide for the family when their parents are old. Thus, they are allowed
to go to school much more than girls.

Other barriers to education for both boys and girls include:

1.​ A lack of adequate school facilities.

2.​ Unavailability of good schools in close vicinity.

3.​ Untrained or teachers with lesser skills.

4.​ Affordability.

Several studies have shown that children with disabilities, children from
internally-displaced communities and migrant families, and children coming under
the juvenile justice system need to be specifically included in the process of the
enactment of the RTE Act – so as to protect their right to non-discriminatory
treatment and their right to receive education in mainstream schools. Practitioners
like Shantha Sinha have argued that it is important to bring in the discussions on the
rights of children to the public sphere. For this, an atmosphere of complacence is
required – and it is a democratic act.

There are questions of social power structures as well as social and cultural
hierarchies involved in the process of providing education to underprivileged
children. At the same time, it is also a discussion on exploitation, profound suffering,
denial of rights and the ethics of building a societal and economic system at the
expense of a childhood.

Under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, states have prescribed the establishment of either
community bodies (like village education committees) or user groups (parent-teacher
associations in Madhya Pradesh or school development and monitoring committees
in Karnataka) for implementing and monitoring programs to universalize elementary
education.
Summing up ,primary education for children is perhaps the most important
constituent of life as because human life cycle requires that the basic competencies
and life skills be acquired at an early age. Now, it is to be seen, as how far this
imperative law would be successful enough to cover the colossal number of children
in our country, who are mainly the victims of child labor and poverty. Legislation
alone will not amend this neglect. Concentrated efforts by every citizen is demanded
to achieve the desired.