The Eleventh Plan articulated the need for expanding educational facilities and
improving quality of education as key instruments for achieving faster and inclusive
growth. The Right to Education Act, which makes education a fundamental
right for all children in the 6–14 age group, became operational in 2009.
The Planning Commission of India claims that according to the 66th round of
the National Sample Survey on employment, the total number of young workingage
people (ages 15–24) who continued in educational institutions doubled from
about 30 million in 2004/2005 to over 60 million during 2009/2010. The survey
also shows that in the 5–14 age group, 89.3% of children were in school during
2009/2010, up from 82.4% during 2004/2005. Further, this increase was higher
for girls, rising from 79.6% during 2004/2005 to 87.7% during 2009/2010. In the
15–19 age group, 59.5% of young people were in the educational system during
2009/2010 as compared with 46.2% during 2004/2005.