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Difficulty: MediumFundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

Consider the following statements regarding the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002, which created a tripartite constitutional framework for education across Part III, Part IV, and Part IVA:

1. It inserted Article 21A in Part III, declaring free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years as a Fundamental Right.
2. It modified the scope of Article 45 in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) to focus on early childhood care and education for children below the age of six years.
3. It added clause (k) to Article 51A under Part IVA, making it a Fundamental Duty of a parent or guardian to provide educational opportunities to their child aged 6 to 14 years.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. A
    1 and 2 only
  2. B
    2 and 3 only
  3. C
    1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3Answer

Answer

Statements 1, 2, and 3 are all correct.
The correct answer includes all three statements because the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 enacted a coordinated change across Part III, Part IV, and Part IVA. It introduced Article 21A (Fundamental Right for ages 6–14), modified Article 45 (Directive Principle for children up to 6 years), and added Article 51A(k) (Fundamental Duty of parents/guardians for children aged 6–14).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the impact of the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 on Part III (Fundamental Rights).
It inserted Article 21A, guaranteeing free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6 to 14 years as a Fundamental Right.
This elevated primary education to an enforceable right of every child in India.
2
Examine the modification made to Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy).
Article 45 was substituted to read that the State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.
Since 6–14 years moved to Article 21A, Article 45 was repurposed to cover early childhood care below 6 years.
3
Examine the addition to Part IVA (Fundamental Duties).
Clause (k) was appended to Article 51A, making it the fundamental duty of a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to their child or ward aged 6 to 14 years.
This expanded the total number of Fundamental Duties from 10 to 11.

Key Concept

Tripartite Constitutional Alignment on Education via the 86th Amendment
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

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