Question

Education was made a Fundamental Right according to ______________.
A. $42^{nd}$ Amendment
B. $93^{rd}$ Amendment
C. $73^{rd}$ Amendment
D. $86^{th}$ Amendment

Answer 1

Hint: One of the basic challenges faced regarding education in India is inaccessibility. Since independence, therefore, the government has always strived to address this issue through measures and programs in its five-year plans. The Right to Education Act is a fundamental right under Article 21A of the Constitution, guaranteeing free and compulsory education for all children between the age of 6-14 years.

Complete answer:
Option A: is incorrect. The $42^{nd}$ Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976 is known for adding the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ to the Preamble of the Constitution and new directive principles of state policy as Article 39A, 43A and 48A.
Option B: is incorrect. The $93^{rd}$ Constitutional Amendment Act of 2006 allowed the State to make any special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes or the SCs and STs unless such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions.
Option C: is incorrect. The $73^{rd}$ Constitutional Amendment of 1992 provided for a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj with Gram Sabha as the base in villages, and above it, panchayats will be constituted at intermediate block and district levels as a part of decentralised rural local self-governance.
Option D: is correct. The $86^{th}$ Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 introduced the Right to Education Act and it was passed in 2009 and came into effect in 2010.

Note: Before the RTE Act, Article 45 in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution stated that the State should take up measures to provide free and compulsory education to all until the age of 14 years, this provision was not legally backed. The precursor to the Right to Education Act was the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan that was launched in 2000.