Fundamental Right to Education and The Constitution

A Critical Review of Laws, Policies and Programmes

Niranjanaradhya V.P.

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040911907
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Constitutions

This collection examines the fundamental right to education in India through thirty scholarly essays and policy analyses. The work critically evaluates the Right to Education Act, National Education Policy developments, and constitutional provisions for equitable education. Contributors analyze textbook controversies, privatization impacts, and implementation challenges affecting disadvantaged children. The volume also includes:

• Comprehensive analysis of the Right to Education Act and its implementation challenges in India
• Critical examination of National Education Policy developments and their constitutional implications
• Expert perspectives on educational privatization and its impact on equitable access to education
• Detailed discussion of textbook controversies and educational policy debates in Karnataka
• Constitutional framework analysis for establishing common school systems in India

With forewords by Muchkund Dubey and G. Ramakrishna, this book addresses contemporary debates surrounding educational rights and policy implementation in India.

This title has been co-published with Aakar Books. T&F does not sell or distrubute the print versions in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Foreword
• Dr. Niranjanaradhya's Musings on the Right to Education
• 1 The Revision of School Textbooks in Karnataka Must Cause Alarm 1: It is Undemocratic, Unscientific, and Undermines Core Constitutional Values
• 2 We are Only Changing What was False in Textbooks vs Changes Should Not be to Promote Political Ideology
• 3 Interview | Karnataka Government Taking Sides in Hijab Row, Muslim Girls May Become Targets: Expert
• 4 Restore the Rights of Children: Covid Created an Unprecedented Crisis in the State
• 5 RTE Act Weakened by Lack of Will: CAG Report of 2017 and Government's Annual Analytical Reports Point to Violation, Non-Compliance
• 6 The Draft Report to Evolve a National Education Policy Lacks Perspective to Build an Egalitarian Society Based on the Constitutional Values
• 7 The Draft National Education Policy Lacks Public Good Perspective of Education
• 8 The RTE Amendment Act, 2019: A Monument of Governmental Failure?
• 9 Community Participation: Founding Stone of Universalisation of Quality Education in the Neighbourhood
• 10 National Education Policy: Far-Sighted Vision Needed
• 11 Education Still Eludes the Disadvantaged: Even After 6 Years of the Implementation of the RTE Act, Not All Children Have Come Back to School.
• 12 Common Schooling Can Ensure Equality: The Principle of Neighbourhood ‘Common School System’ Will Bring in Social Justice, Equity
• 13 Don't Review ‘No-Detention’ Policy: The Recommendation on HRD to Reconsider “No-detention” Provision is Myopic and Ill-conceived
• 14 Queries and Replies Found Wanting: A Reading of Unstarred Questions Raised and Answers Obtained from the HRD Minister is Utterly Disappointing
• 15 New Education Policy: Opening the System to the Market?
• 16 Fee Fixation Against the Larger Social Good: The Committee, Appointed by the Department of Public Instruction, Hurriedly Proposed the Fee Structure for Pre-primary Education in Private Schools in the Absence of a Well-defined Policy
• 17 The Right to Education, Constitution and the Common School System in India
• 18 Denying Education by Privatisation
• 19 Saffronisation Plan Violates National Curriculum Framework
• 20 Misusing the ‘Minority’ Clause in the Right to Education Act
• 21 Government Apathy Ensures That Right to Education Remains on Paper
• 22 Constitution is Above the Gita
• 23 People's Constitutional Right to Education Versus the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009
• 24 Still Born Legislation!
• 25 Flaws in the Right to the Education Bill: A Missed Opportunity to Create a National System of Education Based on Equality and Social Justice.
• 26 Equitable Quality Education is Every Child's Birthright
• 27 Towards a Comprehensive Education Policy: Can a Bill Rejected by the People Be Tabled in Parliament?
• 28 Children Need Space for Interaction: Expert Opinion
• 29 Maximum Autonomy Will Be the Best Option
• 30 A Multi-Pronged Approach Vital