Question

Which Clause in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 prohibits physical punishment or mental harassment of children in school?
1. 13 (3)
2. 11 (1)
3. 17 (1)
4. 8 (2)

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : 17 (1)

The correct answer is 17 (1).

• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
  • The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009.
  • It describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution.
  • India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010.
  • The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’.
    • ‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
    • ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group
  • Section 17 prohibits any child from being subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment.
    • ​There is a mistaken notion that the ‘discipline’ of children comes from punishment and fear. Educationists the world over are clear that what matters for creating a mature citizen is the provision of a ‘learning environment’ in the formative years, which is what the school must become, and not a ‘correctional’ centre, which has the connotations of a jail. Physical punishment and mental trauma are counter-productive, and may cause a child to become even more defiant and rebellious than before.