In India, the Right to Education Act (RTE) that promises a right to free and compulsory education to every child between 6-14 years has just completed its first year. But, unfortunately, a number of children in this age group are still out of school in Uttar Pradesh, though basic education authorities claim no child is left out of school.
"We identified 1,257 such children during the last survey conducted in July-August 2010 and all of them were admitted to different schools”, said Triloki Sharma of the Basic Education Department when contacted. "Presently there is no child in the 6-14-year age group out of school”, he claimed, and added the next survey would be conducted in the coming months of July-August.
It may sound very pleasant, but reality is something else. One can easily see children engaged in roadside dhabas, tea stalls, rag-picking and other 'unhealthy' jobs. They do not go to school for one reason or another. "The claim of officials itself contradicts the fact that the school drop-out rate in Uttar Pradesh is about 25-30%," said Rajni Kant, state convener of Campaign against Child Labour (CACL). "To date, the maximum number of child labourers (about one million), are in Uttar Pradesh" he said and added that given this situation, how could anyone claim that all children were brought under the umbrella of the RTE Act?