| Parents of the 32 students studying in standard seven | | | | primary schooling and are unemployed, act as a |
| in a school at a non-descript village in the Karnataka | | | | disincentive for education of other children in the |
| State of Southern India staged protests last June. The | | | | community. Younger children and their families see the |
| reason? They wanted their children, especially girls, to | | | | writing on the wall - primary education does not |
| continue their education beyond the seventh standard, | | | | always improve the situation of the poor unless what |
| without travelling to neighboring villages; and the local | | | | they learn is perceived as being relevant to their life |
| school in the Tigalarapalya village where they were | | | | situation. |
| studying so far did not have classes beyond seventh. | | | | The enrolment drives for out-of-school children, child |
| So they forced the authorities to add higher classes to | | | | labour projects and innumerable remedial education |
| the school. | | | | and bridge courses have emerged in the last 10 years, |
| Yet in 2000 and 2001, the same parents had resisted | | | | started by district and local government authorities and |
| when the government officials, volunteers and | | | | assisted by NGOs, corporate bodies, local business |
| non-government organizations pleaded with them to | | | | and the community. These bridge or condensed |
| send their children to school. They preferred to send | | | | courses have helped children to re-enter the formal |
| them to work in the silk-weaving factories which | | | | stream, prevented dropouts and improved the learning |
| abound in their villages, so they could clear the loans | | | | achievements of children in school. |
| they had taken from the factory owners. The rural | | | | There have been several initiatives taken by private |
| district of Magadi on the outskirts of Bangalore city has | | | | institutions, or government in partnership with the |
| many such villages, where the children work in | | | | private institutions, that have borne good results. |
| hazarduous factories. Magadi Makkala Dhwani - a | | | | The Nali-Kali(literally, dance-learn) strategy of teaching |
| group of four non-government organizations, supported | | | | developed by teachers in Mysore has adopted |
| by UNICEF, had then approached both parents and | | | | creative learning practices to help retain children in |
| factory owners and educated them on the rights of | | | | school and bring in those not attending school. This |
| children and sensitized them to the hazards of working | | | | method creates the right ambience for the child to |
| in factories. | | | | learn in a child-friendly fun-filled way through |
| The most heartening feature about the protests is that | | | | educational toys, songs, games, story telling, all made |
| these were not headed by NGOs. It was a protest by | | | | by the teachers themselves. This method eliminates |
| the parents and students,which showed the concerted | | | | the formal system of roll calls, examinations, |
| efforts by Magadi Makkala Dhwani had paid off in | | | | promotions and ranking. |
| creating awareness about the importance of | | | | The initiative has helped improve enrolment, particularly |
| education. | | | | of girls, and has been expanded to cover more areas |
| Another interesting incident occurred last August. | | | | within Mysore and 10 more districts in the state. |
| Around 26 child labourers were admitted to special | | | | The Akshara Foundation, an initiative with the Infosys |
| residential schools after they were rescued by deputy | | | | backing; has worked in the slums of Bangalore to |
| Labour Commissioner and a team of inspectors and | | | | touch the lives of over 60,000 children in and around |
| representatives of NGOs working on the pilot project | | | | the city of Bangalore. The young children do not have |
| introduced by the UNICEF and Norwegian Agency for | | | | to follow their mother to her workplace as she goes |
| Development. The three-year NORAD-UNICEF pilot | | | | out to earn her livelihood. Mother of Satisa, who studies |
| project was implemented through Karnataka | | | | in one such pre-school, says happily, "my son does not |
| Government in 2002 as a test case in the districts of | | | | loiter on the road when I am out on construction. He |
| Davangere and Gulbarga. Since the last two-and-half | | | | has learnt to read and write!" |
| years, the NORAD-UNICEF office succeeded in | | | | To take care of children who have to work to earn a |
| rehabilitating about two thousand child labourers | | | | livelihood Akshara and CWC (Concerned for Working |
| working in chronic work situations in the two districts. | | | | Children) have partnered with the Department for |
| Several self help groups and youth organizations took | | | | Public Instruction t start Transit School Program in 8 |
| part in social mobilisation and mass awareness | | | | pilot locations in the city. Transit schools are open from |
| programmes like enacting street plays on the evils of | | | | 8 am to 8 pm for the convenience of the children. |
| employing under-aged children and the importance of | | | | Working children come to the centers (mostly in |
| sending them to school. | | | | government schools) at convenient times during the |
| The ball that was set rolling in the 90s in the wake of | | | | day. |
| the National Policy on Education through numerous | | | | Azim Premji Foundation focuses on "quality of |
| programmes such as World bank-assisted District | | | | education" and what happens inside a school, taking |
| Primary Education Programme (DPEP), has gained | | | | note of the numerous initiatives taken by the |
| momentum in the last five years through Sarva | | | | government. Its CEO Mr. Dileep Ranjekar says that |
| Shiksha Abhiyan, the integrated national programme | | | | their programs demonstrate "proof of concept" that |
| for Universal Elementary Education, which aims to | | | | can be replicated at a large scale in the government |
| provide quality education for children between the | | | | system. The Accelerated Learning Program and the |
| ages of 6 and 14 years by 2010. The drive, launched in | | | | Child Friendly School are examples of such |
| 2001, aims to reduce the number of children who are | | | | programmes.Large numbers of children have been |
| out of school, narrow gender and social gaps and | | | | mainstreamed through specially devised bridge |
| improve the quality of education. | | | | courses. |
| Education is the only hope for India to change its | | | | The foundation has developed CD based, child centric |
| current status of a "developing country" into a | | | | and interactive curricular content in local languages that |
| "developed country". And she cannot make this | | | | is being used by thousands of schools across five |
| change happen unless she ensures that the 59 million | | | | Indian states. The CDs are free for all government |
| children out of the 200 million children in the age group | | | | school and non-government schools that cater to |
| of 6-14 who are currently out of school enrol in proper | | | | children from socio-economically weaker sections. |
| schools and learn. | | | | Other schools can have it at a very nominal charge. |
| What is keeping these 59 million children outside the | | | | Mr. Dileep Ranjekar says, "We have tried to use IT to |
| school? Problems of access, poor quality in school | | | | enhance the curricular learning of the children as well |
| processes, lack of participation by the community in | | | | as to create excitement in the schools. The |
| the school affairs and poverty are among the key | | | | attendance of the children is significantly up on the |
| barriers to universal education. In Karnataka alone, over | | | | days they are scheduled to work on the computers." |
| 300,000 out-of-school children have been | | | | There are some more remedial steps that |
| mainstreamed during the past three years. But what is | | | | government/NGOs can take: |
| causing concern is the national average drop out rate | | | | - Mobilise and organize working children into a |
| for children in 1-8th standard, which stands at 57% and | | | | self-managed association/organization. Educate them |
| an alarming dropout rate of 60% for girl children for the | | | | about their rights - right to education, freedom from |
| same standards. | | | | exploitation, hazardous and non-hazardous work, |
| Once children reach school, a variety of factors | | | | nutrition and emotional and physical well being. |
| determine whether they will learn and acquire the skills | | | | - Take a close look at what is happening inside the |
| to pursue formal education or drop out. In many cases, | | | | school. How are children- girls, children from |
| a child from a poor/rural family is unable to | | | | disadvantaged groups, children in difficult circumstances |
| comprehend and cope up with the pace of other | | | | treated? |
| formal school children. Teachers are not able to | | | | - Set up a help-line line to reach out to working children |
| identify or diagnose the competencies that a child | | | | in distress, confront and work with the government, |
| lacks and provide him/her with supplementary teaching. | | | | and employers to ensure the rights of children. |
| It is not uncommon to come across children who have | | | | - Encourage older children to talk about their future - |
| been to school but remain functionally illiterate. | | | | training, employment and self-employment opportunities |
| Disillusioned youngsters, who may have completed | | | | and link education with future prospects. |