Free Education Up to Degree Level: John Brittas’ Private Bill in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: John Brittas, MP, has introduced two private members’ bills in the Rajya Sabha. The first seeks to extend free and compulsory education in the country up to the degree level, while the second proposes amendments to the regulations of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

The Constitution currently guarantees free and compulsory education only to children aged 6 to 14 years. The main demand in the bill is to make a timely change and extend free and compulsory education up to the degree level. Many students in the country drop out of school at the secondary, higher secondary, and degree levels. Legal protection is essential to prevent this. Lack of proper education leads to poverty and limits participation in the democratic process. In the global knowledge economy, degree-level education has become essential for decent work and social dignity. The fact that it is not available to all constitutes a violation of the equal justice envisaged by the Constitution.

The main proposal in the second bill is that the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) should not be applied retrospectively. This amendment is being proposed in a context where, under the current Right to Education Act, the Supreme Court ruling making TET mandatory could adversely affect the jobs of lakhs of teachers who had already entered service before the law came into effect. The second bill proposes an amendment to the Right to Education Act to ensure that the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) does not apply to teachers who started working before the law came into effect. The bill aims to protect the jobs of teachers who have been serving for years by exempting them from the TET requirement.