Legality of Homeschooling in India and its Impact on Children in Light of Right to Education

Home-schoolings, as the name suggests means schooling the child at home. The main purpose of this is to cater to the specific needs of the child. This type of education is largely different from public-schooling and while it can be considered as an alternative to public-schooling, this alternative is not free of its share of fair problems. Home-schooling is also defined as the teaching and a learning situation, where children spend the majority of the regular school time in or near their home, instead of attending a conventional school. But with the enforcement of RTE Act, it seems that there are certain barriers for home-schooling in India. The RTE Act has raised questions regarding the legality of Home-Schooling in India. The aim of the author in this paper is to understand the legality of home-schooling in India in light of the RTE Act and the subsequent impact of home-schooling in India. The author has analysed the present paper through the doctrinal research methodology. Secondary data including journals, research papers, books, case laws and newspaper articles have been referred. It can be concluded the legality of Home-Schooling in India is still uncertain, but with the affidavit filed by the Union MHRD in the case of Shreya Sahai and Ors. vs. Union of India and Ors., it can be understood that it is still legal. It remains to be seen if in future the RTE Act will be amended to include home-schooling as well.