• The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 provides a legal framework for Article 21A of the constitution. There are significant challenges that hinder its progress.

• There is a lack of clarity about implementation of no detention and continuous and comprehensive evaluation at the elementary school stage at the lower levels. There is also a view that it discourages learning. The Subramanian Committee is in favour of altering this.
• The training of teachers remains inadequate, who implement the mandate of RTE without understanding its objectives properly.
• The pupil teacher ratio mandated under RTE is 30:1, but the real numbers are much higher.
• The minimum infrastructure requirements under RTE norms have not been met.
• The act does not prescribe a method for the selection of 25% poor children for admission in the unaided private schools.

• The case for privatisation:

• The supply of public education has not been commensurate with the growth in demand due to lack of funds and lacunae in policy.
• Greater competition will improve the quality.
• Increase in the number and geographical spread will improve access.
• The cost of running private schools will be less because of market determined salaries.

• Privatisation can be deemed to be unjustified in light of the following views:

• There are problems of access and quality in private education.
• There is insufficient evidence to support that children in private schools outperform those in public schools in India.
• Students in private schools are less likely to belong to low caste groups.
• There is no evidence to support that the cost of running private schools is much lower..
• The low-cost private schools often run in grossly inadequate infrastructure.

• The government should fix the public school system, which caters to 70% of Indian students, by improving the monitoring of teachers and teaching standards, and by regulating the financial management of the state school system. Private schools can help provide education, but they will find it difficult to provide universal access.