Topic: Compulsory education: from what age to what age — and whose duty is it
How does India mark Compulsory education: from what age to what age — and whose duty is it?
Everyday topic
India writes compulsory education into the Part on fundamental rights — the sharpest difference from the other six markets. Article 21A: the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. It sits immediately after Article 21 on life and personal liberty, in Part III, and the provisions of Part III can be taken to court. By contrast, when the same constitution handles care and education for children under six, in Article 45, the wording is that the State shall *endeavour* to provide it — and that article is in Part IV, of which Article 37 says expressly that no court may enforce it. The same subject, one age band apart, and justiciable parts company with non-justiciable. The structure came about later: Article 21A was inserted by amendment, lifting a promise about education out of the directive principles and into the set of rights that can actually be claimed.
What is this topic?
Taiwan's Compulsory Education Act sets six to fifteen, nine years, and leaves compulsory enrolment itself to a separate statute. Brazil's Article 208, as amended in 2009, runs from four to seventeen — the widest span of the seven. India's Article 21A covers six to fourteen and sits in the Part on fundamental rights, so it can be taken to court. Indonesia's Article 31(2) puts the duty on both sides at once: the citizen must attend basic education and the government must pay for it, with a further clause reserving at least twenty per cent of the budget for education. Japan's Article 26 places the duty on parents. China's Article 46 makes education a right and a duty in the same sentence. The United States has no federal rule at all: each state sets its own start and end ages.
Sources and dates
Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.