God has endowed every individual with thinking power. It is education that hones this capacity and helps one to take the right decision at the right time. Unless a man is educated he is not exposed to the external world. He cannot receive information regarding the matters happening around him. Education brings revolutionary change in the lives of individuals and institutions. It is such a powerful tool and has the potency of transforming ignorants into intellectuals. Life histories of a few great personalities like, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. B R Ambedkar and Dr. Abdul Kalam etc., who started life on modest beginnings, testify this fact. Education is a panacea for most of the ailments of society and the benefits of education not only last longer but have an everlasting, sustainable impact on the social, economic, political lives of individuals and institutions. Education alone can produce qualitative human resources, which play a crucial role in the destiny of a nation.

Education which entails a process of learning and obtaining knowledge at school, is termed as formal education. However, real education must begin at home. But, ironically, in almost all the societies, attending school and receiving an education is extremely vital and necessary for achieving success. Unfortunately, children in most of the developing countries do not have the opportunity to receive formal education. The opportunities that are offered are greatly limited. Sometimes there are not enough resources to provide schooling. Poor parents instead of sending children to the school take them to work along with them to the farms and factories.

There are strong legal foundations about the right to education in International law. Political commitments are also being made from time to time with the intervention of the international agencies like United Nations and its organs. Several countries have resolved to achieve 'Education For All', fixing specific timeframes within which they have to achieve the goal. Recognizing education's multidimensional positive impacts on the individuals and society, it has been identified as a basic human right by modern democratic Governments. Right to education is identified both by international human rights law and municipal laws of some countries. 'Right to Education' is a unique human right, which has its cascading effect on the other spheres of life and leaves an indelible positive impact on them.

Right to Education is recognized in many international instruments like Art. 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Art. 18, 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966; Art. 13, 14 of International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, 1966;

Art. 1, 3 and 4 of UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960); Art. 23(3), 23(4), 28 and 29 of Convention of Rights of Child 1989; Protocol on San Salvador to the American Convention on Human Rights 1988; Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child (1990); European Social Charter 1996; Art. 7 of I.L.O Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999; Art. 5 of International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965 and in Art. 10 of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women-1979. It is also found in a number of regional instruments such as, European Convention, 1953, American Declaration of Rights and Duties of man, 1948, etc. There are also several political commitments at the global level like General Comments No. 3, 11, and 13 of 1999 of United Nation's Economic and Social Council, Jomtien Conference on Education for All-1990, Dakar World Education Forum-2000, Articles 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 of I.L.O, Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples-1989, etc.

As far as the global scenario of education is concerned, there are approximately 140 million children in the world, who do not have access to free and compulsory education. This is an infringement of their right to education. These children of tender age lead their life as child labourers or as street wanderers without access to education, especially in developing countries. The situation of girls and disabled children is much worse. The Governments should exercise special care while extending the Right to Education to these special categories. "Education for All" is second among the eight Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Approximately, 59 countries in the world have incorporated the Right to education in their municipal laws. Worldwide campaigns for right to education is an ongoing phenomenon.

The right to education in India owes its origin to two landmark decisions, the 'Mohini Jain Vs. State of Karnataka' (Captivation fee case)(1992;3 SCC; 666) in which it was observed that 'Right to Education' directly flows from right to life (Article 21). In "Unnikrishnan Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh" (1993; I; SCC-645) the court reiterated the same. The 86th Constitutional Amendment, made right to education a fundamental right under Article 21A in part III of the constitution, providing for free and compulsory education for all children between the age group of 6 to 14 years and the same also been made a fundamental duty in Article 51-A of the constitution. This amendment also modified Article 45(DPSP). Prior to 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) Right to Education in India was governed by Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the constitution and was non enforceable in a court of law. Later, Right to Education Bill-2005 of the Union Government could not be materialized on account of financial hurdles. But state governments were issued guidelines to implement Right to Education by enacting legislations of their own for which they were assured some financial resources by the Union Government.

This book on Right to Education consists of nine articles, which discuss various aspects of Right to Education in general, and the need for 'inclusive education' in particular. Other than these two aspects, regional dimensions of Right to Education is also elaborately discussed.

The first article "Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All" by 'United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization' emphasizes the importance of 'Inclusive Education' in the present era and this article critically examines the rationale behind inclusive education and enumerates the key players involved and their respective roles and the nature of curricula required. It also suggests the tools for educational planners and policy makers, the steps involved and the strategic planning in the direction of achieving education for all.

The article "Strengthening Inclusive Education by Applying a Rights-based Approach to Education Programming" by Olof Sandkull stresses the importance of Inclusive Education. Sandkull expresses his concern over the present poor quality of education. He further explains the four key actors involved and the subsequent obligations of Right to Education and advocates a rights-based approach to education programming and exhorts the modern democracies to adopt the education strategies from the point view of learners abdicating the hither to followed traditional ones.

'Rob Reich' in his article "Equality and Adequacy in the State's Provision of Education: Mapping the Conceptual Landscape" explains the concepts equality and adequacy, distinguishes these concepts and beautifully narrates these two further. The historical context and a number of popular case laws have been discussed in detail. He explains the policy changes from equality orientation to an adequacy orientation and their criteria in resource distribution for education.

Katarina Tomasevski in the article "Girls' Education through A Human Rights Lens: What can be Done Differently, What can be Made Better" laments over the present status of girls' education, protests against the practice of child marriage and vehemently criticizes the legalized discrimination of girls by the so called civilized nations (fixing lower age of marriage for girls compared to boys) which in fact amounts to infringement of Girl's Right to Education. The author further advises not to treat pregnant unmarried girls as wrong doers, but to encourage them to continue their education viewing the entire situation through human rights lens only.

The article "Lessons for All of Us: Protecting the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities" by 'National Council on Disability' highlights the need for disabled children's Right to Education. The author discusses the International legal framework related to disabled children, International Human Rights Law, the development and evolution of law related to disabled children's education in USA. The author strongly opines that the 'Individualized Education Programme' that requires the integration and participation of parents, teacher and a member of school, to be the appropriate strategy to achieve the Right to Education for disabled children.

Sydney Nwanakponna Osuji in his article "The Right to Learn: The Continuing Education Opportunities for Workers in Industries in Nigeria" discusses the industrial workers' right to continuing education opportunities in Nigeria. It is mandatory that "The Industrial Training Fund" should be constituted for this purpose to support the training activities to be organized. The author defines the concepts of Right, Right to Learn and 'Continuing Education' and distinguishes them to bring clarity. The author encourages the concept of training, which should involve all categories of employees. The Industrial Training Fund should be contributed by all the three, i.e., employers, government and employees. Education for All becomes meaningful, fruitful and successful, only when it provides an opportunity to learn new things to all categories of people, and is available in all stages of one's life.

The importance of Right to Education as a broader right is elucidated well in the article "Right to Education" by Faranaaz Veriava and Fons Coomans. Section 29 of the South African Constitution contains a wide variety of rights such as Right to Basic Education, Adult Education, Further and Higher Education, Right to Language Choice, School Choice, etc. The article, while elaborately explaining this right, analyses Section 29. Right to Education is recognized as a socio-economic and civil and political right in South Africa. The content of Right to Education is analyzed well through Four- A's scheme.

If education becomes a purchasable public good in the market due to Government's rigid policies like tight governmental control leading to centralization, recurrent state interventions, etc., it will subsequently have an impact on the poorer sections of the society. The article "Forms of Infringement of the Right to Education in Contemporary Greek Educational Structures" by 'Aristotelis Stamoulas' narrates the fates of the students belonging to poorer sections in Greece. It also analyses the social and economic profile of the student's population and how the 'free choice' has been narrowed down to the student community. It further criticizes the monopoly of the State over higher education, which in turn leads to the violations of right to education in Greek.

Right to Education cannot become a reality unless the same is coupled with adequate financial resources. The article "The No Child Left Behind Act and The Legacy of Federal Aid to Education" by Lee W. Anderson highlights the significance of financial resources for implementation of Right to Education. The article discusses the salient features of the newly enacted law of 2001 'No Child Left Behind" (NCLB). It also discusses all the pre-existing Federal Education Laws- National Defence Education Act-1958, Elementary and Secondary Education Act-1965, Education for All Handicapped Children Act-1975, etc. It also critically analyzes how NCLB Act is different from the earlier federal education laws.