The Hindu : New Delhi News : Let us study, say kids

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Friday, Dec 18, 2009
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Let us study, say kids

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A delegation of activists from Child Rights and You met President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday to hand over a charter of demands on education that was signed by 7.7 lakh people from across the country.

They drew the President’s attention to the gaps that need to be filled to make sure that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, reaches every child in India.

Acknowledged

“The President acknowledged the fundamental importance of education in human development and the consequent need for it to reach every single Indian child. We shared with her the results of our ‘Sabko Shiksha Samaan Shiksha campaign in which more than 7.70 lakh people from 18 States have signed a charter demanding equal quality education for all Indian children. We now want the Government to accept these demands as voices from the ground and act upon making education a right for every child,” said CRY director Puja Marwaha.

Public walk

CRY also organised a public walk on December 11 at Bal Bhavan, where the need to amend the Act was discussed. “CRY’s on-ground experience in the 6,700 villages and slums we work in underscores what the recent Suresh Tendulkar Committee report has recommended to the Planning Commission and we are working on increasing support both within the government and outside, on India’s need to invest in basic rights such as education,” said Ms. Marwaha.

She said from the point of view of India’s children, the landmark Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, is limited in its scope. The charter seeks three key amendments in order to ensure this right for every one of India’s 440 million children.

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