The demand for state sponsored free and compulsory education up to 12 years was voiced by the Indian leaders during the freedom struggle and that was placed officially before the Indian Education Commission headed by William Hunter in 1882. Later in 1911, Gopal Krishna Gokhle moved a private Bill to free and compulsory education in the Imperial

Legislative Assembly, which was, however, unfortunately turned down by the British rulers. In the post-independent period, Article 45 of the newly framed Constitution stated that

the State shall endeavour to provide within a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution, free and compulsory education to all children until they complete the age of 14 years. In the millennium year (2000) leaders of 189 nation states including India, signed the United Nations sponsored Millennium Declaration, which set out the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to inter alia ensure that all children around the world are in primary school by the year 2015. In 2002, in adherence to this declaration the eighty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution was passed and Article 21A which obligated the state to provide free and compulsory education for all children in the age group 6 to 14 years was introduced in the Chapter of Fundamental Rights. The Right to Free and Compulsory Act, 2009 (RTE) enacted to give effect to this Fundamental Right which came into effect on the 1st July, 2010.