One of the vehicles for social mobility is a good quality education. In India, The Right to Education (RTE) Act has been a starting point for a discussion to ensure that all children have access to good quality education. The Act specifies that all children up to the age of 16 have a right to education. The Act also provides for the reservation of some seats for meritorious lower income students in private schools. While RTE establishes a right for children, it lets go of them as they are entering their youthhood, especially at a time when they need to make choices with regard to their education and other career choices.
The increasing marketisation of education, the reduction of funding for State funded universities as well as the privatisation of higher education have made education unaffordable. Youth from economically weaker families are at an increasing disadvantage to access a good quality education due to the high fee structures which means that the gains made through the RTE cannot be fully leveraged by these youth. While there are a few scholarships available for students, in general the cost of putting oneself through university can be a huge deterrent for many youth. What is necessary is a guarantee that financial need will never be a reason a young person misses out on good quality higher education. Furthermore, some students have additional constraints that prevent them from reaching the ideal of equality enshrined in the constitution. Many talented young women are usually under intense pressure to give up their education and get married, have children and run a household denying them the opportunity to explore higher education. Similarly, particular communities like the scheduled castes and tribes face discrimination to access higher education.
In this context, the Youth Right to Education includes and recognises the following:
Right to Free education until the age of 18 years.
Right to Access to affordable and quality higher education.