The Right to Education Bill, 2005: A Constructive Critique

This policy note aims to provide a constructive critique of the Bill and its provisions. It is divided into the following sections: Section I sets out the meaning and implications of the right to education. Section II examines the extent to which the realities of our elementary education system and the normative content of government policy in this regard match the requirements of the right to education. Section III takes a comprehensive look at the provisions of the Bill and discusses questions of scope, design and its failure to target important systemic issues in elementary education. Section IV contains a brief yet fundamental criticism of the philosophy of the Bill by way of concluding remarks.