On the occasion of Children’s Day - Nov 14th - CRY is launching a nation-wide campaign to invite people to sign a Charter to the Government, asking for 3 key amendments to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.

The current Act has several gaps that will result in unequal access to this fundamental right for children. By garnering public support for the charter, CRY hopes to draw the government’s attention to the need for amendment of the Act. It will be submitted to key authorities across States, central government ministers and the President. 

Speaking about the Campaign, CRY’s Director Yogita Verma Saighal said, “The upcoming Winter Session is an opportunity to ask the Government to amend the Act and make its provisions truly reach each and every child in the country. We at CRY as well as our 200 grassroots NGO partners that work with 6700 villages and slums across 18 states in India  will  be signing the charter. Our on-ground events will reach out to India’s citizens to explain the Act and its implications in simple terms and motivate the public to participate in asking the Government to amend the Act. We hope to collect half a million signatures from across India.” 

On-ground events at more than 500 villages, 22 towns and cities will explain in simple terms the provisions of the Act and why it needs to be amended.

The campaign will culminate on December 11th; the anniversary of the day India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which is a significant date for child rights. The charter with signatures collected from across the country will be handed over to the President in the form of a symbolic book.

Sabko Shiksha Samaan Shiksha Campaign Events in Uttar Pradesh:
CRY with its partner organizations is launching a signature campaign in 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh from 14th Nov to 23 Nov. Gatherings for extracurricular activities will be organized for children in Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi on 14th Nov. Post the signature campaign, a state level consultation on Right to Education Act will be organized in Lucknow on 23rd Nov followed by a peoples gathering from communities from 12 districts.

Charter of Demands to the Government on Education:

The State should provide equal, free, quality education based on these 3 must-haves:

1- Include children from below 6 years as well as 15 to 18 years in the Act:
8th pass-outs are in no way adequately qualified – either for vocations or for life. Similarly, nursery school is the foundation for education. Leaving out early childhood care and education and senior schooling seriously limits the right to education. Drop outs are a very large part of India’s education challenge. The Act needs to build bulwarks to prevent this, especially girls who drop out. 

2- Make sure there is a school with qualified teachers and proper facilities within 1 kilometer of any habitation. No minimum standards have been defined for teachers, school infrastructure and facilities, including basics like drinking water, toilets, classrooms, teacher-student ratios etc. Similarly, even though it has been proven that a child learns best in the language spoken at home, the Act does not specify mother-tongue education as a medium of instruction, in addition to learning other languages. Curricula norms need to spell out that the content of education be relevant to who the child is and where she lives.     

The teacher, who is the key figure in a child’s learning, needs investment in improving qualifications, capacities and attitudes to be inclusive towards all children, and be well paid. The teacher’s role as an integral member of the community needs to be respected by not making these appointments on a short-term, contractual basis.

3- Allot 10% of India’s GDP to educatio:

Latest revised estimates show 38% of Indians to be under the poverty line. Unless education gets financial backing by the State, the situation of poverty is not likely to change. No country in the world has been able to reach universal education without the State funding schools. For 400 million children, the government’s spending on education has actually reduced. From 3.84% of the Union budget in the year 2008-2009, it is now down to 3.03%. Given that this right is for 40% of India’s citizens, the Act is heavily underfunded. Unless we put the State’s money into education, the Act will remain a paper tiger.