Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani has requested both Central and the State Governments to make education upto 12th standard completely free of cost across the country. Although education is a State subject, Centre’s intervention is essential to ensure that education spreads and every single child across the country has to have ‘an ease of educating’ himself, he said. The Schooling is becoming costly day by day; ‘Right to Education (RTE), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) etc notwithstanding, Nathwani in letters written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani had demanded.
Nathwani said that the Central government included 8th standard in the primary education system to fulfill its constitutional commitment of providing free and compulsory education to children in age group of 6 to 14 years. He praised the Central government’s efforts for fulfilling constitutional commitment but added that the true goal will be achieved only when entire schooling is made completely free of cost.