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Article 45, as amended by the 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002), now directs the State to endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of ______ years.
- 3
- 6
- 10
- 14
Answer: 6
Article 45 early childhood care and education: (a) Original text (pre-2002): State shall endeavor to provide free and compulsory education for all children until they complete age of 14 years, (b) 86th Amendment (2002) changes: (i) Article 21A inserted: Made education for children aged 6-14 a Fundamental Right, (ii) Article 45 modified: Now directs State to endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete age of 6 years, (iii) Article 51A(k) added: Fundamental Duty for parents/guardians to provide opportunities for education to children aged 6-14, (c) Rationale for modification: (i) Focus on foundational years: Early childhood (0-6) critical for cognitive, social, emotional development; requires targeted policy attention, (ii) Rights-based approach: Making education for 6-14 age group a Fundamental Right enhances justiciability, accountability, (iii) Holistic framework: Combining Fundamental Right (6-14), DPSP (0-6), Fundamental Duty (parental responsibility) creates comprehensive education framework, (d) Applications: (i) ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services): Provides nutrition, health check-ups, pre-school education for children 0-6, pregnant women, lactating mothers, (ii) Anganwadi centers: Grassroots institutions delivering ICDS services; require strengthening for quality early childhood care, education, (iii) NEP 2020: Emphasizes foundational literacy, numeracy; aligns with Article 45 focus on early childhood development, (e) Challenges: (i) Quality: Ensuring trained staff, appropriate curriculum, safe infrastructure for early childhood centers, (ii) Access: Reaching remote, marginalized communities with early childhood services requires targeted outreach, (iii) Convergence: Coordination among health, nutrition, education departments essential for holistic early childhood development, (f) Illustrates transformative education policy: Article 45 operationalized through ICDS, NEP; balance between rights-based approach, service delivery, quality enhancement essential for realizing constitutional vision of inclusive, foundational education for all children.