The Lok Sabha hailed it as a 'historic effort' to make free education a fundamental right for children.
The Lok Sabha today passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, hailed as a “historic effort” to make free education a fundamental right for children.
The Bill to provide free and compulsory education to children aged between 6 to 14 years also aims to reserve 25 per cent seats to weaker sections in private schools. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had keen interest to see that the Bill was passed at the first opportunity, was present when the Bill was approved in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has already okayed the Bill last week.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal described it as “harbinger of a new era” for children “to meet the challenges of the 21st century”. “This will be a historic opportunity for providing better future to children of the country as there was never such a landmark legislation in the last 62 years since independence,” Sibal added.
“We as a nation cannot afford our children not going to schools,” the minister said.
The UPA government will also put an end to the practice of schools taking capitation fees before admission and subjecting the child or parents to any screening procedure, through this Bill. The states will be implementing the policy of reservation in admissions.
The Bill also aims at achieving 10 broad objectives, including free and compulsory education, obligation on the part of states to provide education, nature of curriculum consistent with the Constitution, quality, focus on social responsibility and obligation of teachers and de-bureaucratisation in admissions.
According to Sibal, minority education institutions should also focus on giving education to those disadvantaged within the community.