The recently enacted Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Elementary Education Act, 2009
(the RTE Act), provides, inter alia, that children between six to fourteen years of age have the
right to free and compulsory elementary education till they complete it and the commissions constituted under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 will entertain complaints arising out of any violations of the provisions of the RTE Act. This article brings to the fore some aspects of India’s mandate to provide the right to free and compulsory elementary education to children. The central argument in the article is that though the RTE Act does have certain provisions that generate hope for a better scenario on the front of elementary education in India, the critical factor in realising these hopes is the effective implementation of these provisions, particularly at the grassroots. The article is divided into three parts. Part one discusses India’s obligation relating to children’s right to elementary education, as contained in the Constitution of India and in some human rights instruments and the reflection of the same through some national policies; part two discusses some provisions of the RTE Act; and finally, the third part comprises the conclusion.