Question

By which of the following Amendment Acts was Article 21(A) inserted in the Indian Constitution?

• A. 44th Amendment Act
• B. 42nd Amendment Act
• C. 86th Amendment Act
• D. 73rd Amendment Act

Answer 1

Answer:

C. 86th Amendment Act

Article 21(A) of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 14, was inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’. ‘ Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group