3 Review(s)

Free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of fourteen years is the Constitutional commitment in India. At the time of adoption of the Constitution in 1950, the aim was to achieve the goal of universalisation of elementary education within the next ten years. The goal was far too ambitious considering the lack of proper educational facilities available in the country at that time. Hence, the target date was shifted a number of times. Till 1960, all efforts were focused on provision of schooling facilities. Thereafter, some other components like universal enrolment and retention started receiving attention of planners and policy-makers. The book traces the development of ideas about basic education provision and its expansion through the colonial and post-Independence periods to the present, with attention to the influence of key political and philosophical traditions, including the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and the opposing views rooted in modernisation, human capital and technical-scientific conceptions of development. A historical overview of the development of access to and provision for elementary education has also been provided. A number of key projects have been outlined in the book to illustrate the development in the spread of elementary education in India, including Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and its provisions for marginalised groups based on gender, caste, tribe and the extent of local deprivation; formulation of National Policy on Education in 1986; and the Right to Education 2009, which provides a justiciable legal framework that entitles all children between the ages of 6-14 years free and compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education. It provides for children’s right to an education of equitable quality, based on principles of equity and non-discrimination. The book will be useful to students, teachers and research scholars in the field of education. It will also serve as a reference resource for sociologists, economists and academic administrators.