Supreme Court Seeks Centre, States’ Reply On RTE Implementation Plea
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre, states and all union territories on the PIL seeking implementation of the RTE act, which mandates free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 years of age.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also considered the submissions of a lawyer representing PIL petitioner Haripriya Patel, who also sought implementation of the new education policy in all states and UTs in the country.
“We are issuing notices. We want to look into the matter,” the CJI said.
The lawyer said that one of the most important issues at the outset was the applicability of pre-school education to children across the country.
He also raised the issue of implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is updated from time to time.
NEP is a comprehensive framework that transforms the education system to focus on resilience, skill development and holistic learning.
It replaces the 10+2 structure with a 5+3+3+4 model (ages 3-18), introduces vocational training from grade 6 and emphasizes artificial intelligence, coding and multilingualism to develop a “knowledge superpower.”
The PIL also sought full implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
This law mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14, provides basic education in a neighborhood school, and requires private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for economically weaker sections.
Besides the Centre, all states and UTs have become parties to the PIL.
