Supreme Court: States cannot be forced to implement National Education Policy

Although the Centre asserts that the NEP encourages multilingualism, Tamil Nadu contends that it exerts undue pressure on states where Hindi is not spoken.

Key Features:

The SC has declared that the court lacks the authority to force a state to adhere to a central policy such as the National Education Policy 2020. According to Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, the court can intervene solely when there is a breach of fundamental rights resulting from the enforcement of the policy.

Essential Information

Education is included in the Concurrent list of Schedule 7 of the Indian Constitution, allowing both the Centre and the states to create laws. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment shifted education from the State List to the Concurrent List.

The Right to Education Act, as per Article 21A, establishes education as a basic right for every child aged 6 to 14 and outlines minimum standards for elementary schools.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution provides each person the ability to approach the Supreme Court to enforce their fundamental rights.

The NEP 2020 is India's most recent education policy (following NEP 1986). It is based on the five fundamental principles of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability. It suggests multiple changes in school education along with higher education, encompassing technical education as well.