An Analysis of the Right to Education and Human Development – The Indian Scenario

Human development is an approach focusing on betterment of human lives. One way of achieving this is through better education. Since developed countries, developing countries and under-developed countries have different circumstances and different needs, various international conventions have set out soft laws in the form of targets related to education for member countries to follow. India, being a developing country has amended its Constitution to adhere to these international laws. This has led to the enactment of the RTE Act, 2009. This paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the Act and concludes that although the Act provides for progressive measures, it lacks in providing a standard of quality for education. Additionally, the Act is silent about children below the age of 6 years. The paper also observes that the main reason for these drawbacks are due to the failure of international laws in considering issues relating to quality and pre-school education. Indian legislative measures strictly adhere to what the international law provides, failing to cater to its own specific needs. This therefore hinders fast-paced human development in the country.