Abstract:
The first National Policy on Education, 1968 based on the comprehensive report of the Kothari
Commission made an unambiguous commitment to implement the Constitutional mandate. The Policy
say; "strenuous efforts should be made for the early fulfilment of the Directive Principle under Article 45
of the Constitution seeking to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of
14". The Policy emphasized that a suitable programme should be developed to reduce the wastage and
stagnation in schools and to ensure that every child who is enrolled in school successfully completes the
prescribed course. Later, the National policy on education, 1986 reiterated this commitment. The policy resolved that "the new education policy will give the highest priority to solve the problem of children dropping out of school and will adopt an array of meticulously formulated strategies based on micro planning". This would be applied at the grassroots level all over the country to ensure retention of children in school. This
RIE Library Bhopaleffort would be fully coordinated with the network of non- formal education. It would be ensured that all children who attain the age of 11 years by 1990 would have had five years of. schooling, or its equivalent through the non-formal stream. Likewise, by 1995 all children would be provided free and compulsory
education up to 14 years. After this resolve, India participated in the world conference on Education For All (EFA) organized by the World Bank and a number of international agencies, Including the United Nations agencies. The Conference held at 'Jomtein (issued) a "World Declaration on Education for All" and a " Framework for action to meet basic learning needs". A careful analysis of chronological events right from
the Constituent Assembly days to the present times reveals interesting facts. We began by relying on
internal resource mobillsation and now we are gradually shifting to foreign aid. policy relating to
education is closely connected with this shift in the source of funding for education. The commitment to
provide education to the masses in general and to all children until the age of 14 years in particular,
continued till end of the 80s. It was unequivocally repeated in all government policy documents. But,
RIE Library Bhopal very little was done to make it a reality part of the problem was that this duty was not enforceable as it was a Directive Principle of State policy and quite unlike a fundamental right which casts a binding legal obligation on the State to enforce it. Directive Principles are directory in nature and are condition
which States have to strive to achieve.
