The correct answer is (c). Article 21-A of the Indian Constitution was inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002. The amendment was passed by the 13th Lok Sabha on 23 December 2002 and received the assent of the President on 27 December 2002. The amendment inserted a new Article 21-A in the Constitution, which provides for free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may determine.
The amendment was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the then Minister of Human Resource Development, Murli Manohar Joshi. The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resource Development, which submitted its report on 18 December 2002. The Bill was then passed by the Lok Sabha on 23 December 2002 and by the Rajya Sabha on 24 December 2002. The President gave his assent to the Bill on 27 December 2002.
The amendment was brought in response to the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Unnikrishnan J.P. v. State of Andhra Pradesh, in which the Court had held that the right to education is a fundamental right. The amendment was also intended to fulfill the commitment made by the Government of India in the National Policy on Education, 1986, to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.
The amendment has been welcomed by many as a step towards ensuring that all children in India have access to quality education. However, some have also raised concerns about the implementation of the amendment. It is important to ensure that the amendment is implemented in a way that does not lead to an increase in the burden on teachers and schools. It is also important to ensure that the quality of education provided under the amendment is of a high standard.