India

Recently, opponents to the Right to Education (RTE) Act challenged the constitutionality of the law in the Supreme Court of India.  RTE makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children from poor families, which is to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan. Several private schools campaigned against this ruling and appealed in court.  On April 12, the Supreme Court of India released its judgment upholding RTE.  Although much of the media attention has focused on the 25% threshold for children from poor families, other sources focus on the inadequate education that public-private partnership schools provide their students.