(a) whether the Government proposes to make the registration of elementary education
compulsory in the country;
(b) whether the Government proposes to formulate any policy to check the arbitrary fee being
charged by schools in urban areas of the country in the name of fees and other items thus
making elementary education very costly;
(c) if so, the time by which such a policy is likely to be formulated; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)
(a) to (d): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, mandates
that every child of the age of six to fourteen years shall have the right to free and compulsory
education in a neighbourhood school till the completion of his or her elementary education. The
Act places the responsibility on the ''appropriate government'' and ''the local authority'' to provide
free and compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child
in a neighbourhood school. Section 18 of the RTE Act, 2009 makes it mandatory for a school to
fulfill the norms and standards laid down in the Schedule to the Act and obtain a ''Certification of
Recognition'' from the appropriate Government or local authority. All States and UTs, defined as
the ''appropriate Governments'' under the Act, are implementing the provisions of the RTE Act,
2009 through their respective state RTE Rules.
Further, as education is in the concurrent list and majority of schools are under the
jurisdiction of the State/UT Governments, the regulation of functioning of schools including the
fees charged by them comes under the purview of respective State/UT Governments.
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