No proposal to make national anthem compulsory in schools

New Delhi, December 5

The Centre does not propose to make singing of the national anthem mandatory in all government and government-aided schools, and it is up to the states to take necessary action for observance of provisions of the RTE Act and Constitution concerning the same, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha made a statement in Lok Sabha when he was asked whether the Centre proposes to make singing of the national anthem mandatory in all government and government- aided schools.

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“No, Madam,” Kushwaha said, addressing the Speaker.

Citing the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, Kushwaha said it provides for free and compulsory education to every child of age 6 to 14 in a neighbourhood school till the completion of elementary education in all states and UTs except Jammu and Kashmir.

Section 29(2)(a) of the RTE Act provides that the academic authority, while laying down the curriculum and the evaluation procedure under sub-section (1), shall take into consideration conformity with the values enshrined in the Constitution.

“Further, Article 51-A (a) of the Constitution of India mentions that it shall be the duty of the every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem.

“As education is in the concurrent list and a majority of schools are under the jurisdiction of the state governments and UT administrations, it is for them to take necessary action for observance of the above provisions of the RTE Act and the Constitution of India,” he said. — PTI