'We'd Examine' : Supreme Court To Hear Plea Seeking Free Pre-Primary Education As Proposed By NEP 2020

The Supreme Court yesterday issued notice on a public interest litigation seeking provision of free and compulsory education at the pre-primary level as per the National Education Policy, 2020.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order. "We'd like to examine...", said the CJI.

Presently, the Right to Education Act mandates free and compulsory education only for children aged between 6-14 years old, and does not cover pre-primary education. The National Education Policy 2020 aims to ensure that "all students, particularly students from underprivileged and disadvantaged sections, shall have universal, free and compulsory access to high-quality and equitable schooling from early childhood care and education (age 3 onwards) through higher secondary education (i.e., until Grade 12)"

Besides the implementation of NEP 2020 for free and compulsory education at pre-primary level, the PIL filed by Haripriya Patel seeks a declaration that right to education under Article 21A of the Constitution includes "enforceable entitlements to adequate teachers, reasonable pupil teacher ratios, accessible infrastructure, support services for children with disabilities, and effective utilisation of education funds".

The petitioner further seeks a direction for the Union to ensure "uniform minimum standards" for school education across all States/UTs. She also seeks constitution of an Independent National School Education Monitoring Authority or Court-monitored National Oversight Committee on School Education Reform, comprising education experts, disability rights specialists, representatives of NCERT & NCPCR, jurists and outstanding academicians.

Another relief sought is a direction for public disclosure of school-wise Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR), infrastructure status, accessibility, school wise budget allocation and fund utilization on official portals. The petitioner also prays for barrier-free access in all schools for children with special needs, including ramps, accessible classrooms and safe entry and exit points.

What does the petition say?

The petitioner claims that despite international obligations under conventions, statutory mandates under the RTE Act and RPwD Act, policy commitments under NEP 2020 and approval of an outlay of Rs.29,4283.04 cr. for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, for the period 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2026, there are persistent deficiencies in the school education provided by government schools or schools aided by the government.

These include regional and state disparities in budget allocation, poor infrastructure, poor foundational literacy, uneven PTR, poor support system for children with special needs, high dropout rates, treatment of pre-primary education as directory and not obligatory, low learning outcomes, etc.

Pointing to rising GDP and per capita GDP of the country, the petitioner states that the State has enough resources to make pre-primary education an integral part of fundamental right in compliance of NEP 2020, UN Convention on Child Rights, Sustainable Development Goal-4, Articles 21 and 45 of the Constitution.

"Article 45 read with Article 37 of the Constitution lays down the guiding principle for pre-primary education and confers duty on the State to provide early childhood care & education for all children until they complete the age of six years."

The petitioner highlights that Section 11 of RTE Act confers a discretion to the State regarding provision of free and compulsory pre-primary education. However, the use of the word "may" therein was debated in the Rajya Sabha at the time of enactment and suggested to be replaced by "shall".

"Broader interpretation of Article 21 for fair implementation of the provision of free and compulsory education at pre-primary level described under National Education Policy 2020 is required to remove the difficulty imposed under section 11 of the RTE Act, 2009."

Based on a UNESCO study, she also claims that 51 member nations of the UN have made pre-primary education free and compulsory for their children, in furtherance of SDG-4. It is also alleged that while 6% of GDP of the state is to be allocated for education purpose, actual figures are substantially low (hovering around 3-4% in recent years).

The petition has been filed through AoR Amrendra Kumar Mehta.

Case Title: HARIPRIYA PATEL v. UNION OF INDIA, W.P.(C) No. 361/2026