"Teachers' Day: Honouring Educators and Reforming Government School Quality"
Article 21A
Constitutional provision guaranteeing free and compulsory education to children aged 6–14.
RTE Act, 2009
Law operationalising Article 21A; sets minimum standards for schools and teacher qualifications.
Education is a Concurrent List subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Both Parliament and state legislatures can legislate on it. This shared responsibility has historically created coordination gaps, particularly in government school quality. Article 21A, inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment, 2002, guarantees free and compulsory education to children aged six to fourteen. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 operationalises this right. It sets minimum standards for school infrastructure, teacher qualifications, and pupil-teacher ratios.
The tradition of honouring teachers in India draws from a deep cultural and philosophical foundation. The guru-shishya parampara, the teacher-student tradition, was central to ancient Indian education. The Taittiriya Upanishad articulated the principle of Acharyadevo Bhava, placing the teacher on par with the divine. This cultural inheritance continues to shape how Indian society and policy approach the teaching profession. The National Teachers' Award, instituted in 1958 by the Ministry of Education, is India's highest national recognition for school educators. It is conferred annually on Teachers' Day (September 5), the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the philosopher-statesman who regarded teaching as the most important of all roles.
The RTE Act, 2009 is the primary legal framework governing elementary education. It mandates that primary school teachers pass a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) conducted in accordance with National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines. This is a key Prelims-tested provision. The Act also requires minimum pupil-teacher ratios and prohibits physical punishment. However, compliance across states remains uneven.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is the most comprehensive reform of India's education framework in decades. It aims to shift from rote learning to competency-based education. It recommends mother-tongue instruction in early grades, integration of vocational training, and a restructured school curriculum. The DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) platform was built to support teachers and students with digital content at scale. …
Consider the following statements :
1.As per the Right to Education (RTE) Act, to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in a State, a person would be required to possess the minimum qualification laid down by the concerned State Council of Teacher Education.
2.As per the RTE Act, for teaching primary classes, a candidate is required to pass a Teacher Eligibility Test conducted in accordance with the National Council of Teacher Education guidelines.
3.In India, more than 90% of teacher education institutions are directly under the State Governments.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
National Education Policy 2020 is in conformity with the Sustainable Development Goal-4 (2030). It intends to restructure and reorient education system in India. Critically examine the statement.
With reference to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, consider the following statements:
1.For appointment as a primary school teacher, a candidate must pass a Teacher Eligibility Test conducted in accordance with the National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines.
2.The minimum qualification for teacher appointment is laid down by the concerned State Council of Teacher Education.
3.The Act prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment of children.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the constitutional basis for free and compulsory elementary education in India?
Consider the following pairs:
Scheme / Platform — Primary Purpose
1.DIKSHA — Digital content for teachers and students
2.Vidyanjali Yojana — Community volunteer participation in government schools
3.PM POSHAN — Teacher professional development and training
4.NIPUN Bharat — Foundational literacy and numeracy in early grades
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
With reference to education in India, consider the following statements:
1.Education is included in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
2.The 42nd Constitutional Amendment moved education from the State List to the Concurrent List.
3.Because education is on the Concurrent List, state laws on education automatically become void if they conflict with a central law.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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