To,
Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee,
The Prime Minister of India,
New Delhi.
Respected Sir,
Some of the local newspapers in Karnataka carried a
news item of your interactions with a group of school children in
Manali during which you were quoted as having said that 'there are
countries where parents are punished for not sending their children to
school, India may soon follow suit.'
We, the Concerned for Working Children are a
national organisation working with children and their rights for
almost two decades. We are extremely disturbed by the implications of
your statement Sir, and would like to raise the following issues in
that connection.
We would like to bring to your kind attention that
most out of school children come from extremely marginalised families,
who battle for bare survival daily. Even after 52 years of
independence we have not solved poverty or been able to provide the
basic necessities such as employment, food, housing or even access to
clean drinking water. Any measure to penalise parents of such children
will only result in further abuse and oppression of people who are
already being stamped underfoot by the state and civil society.
Many children also have financial constraints as
they share their families’ struggle for survival and have to
contribute in every way they can. Such children cannot attend school
during traditional hours, as there is an overlap between the hours of
work and school.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact
that a majority of children in our country and their families have
real problems with the formal school system as it is today. They find
that the education that schools provide is not relevant to their
lives, their livelihood and their socialisation needs. They have
serious problems related to access, teaching and learning
methodologies, an uncongenial learning environment and the lack of
infrastructure.
These are serious issues and cannot be glossed over
by ‘motivating parents’ through penalizing them, a contradiction in
itself.
We are convinced that punishing parents or herding
children back into ineffective schools is not a solution. If we as a
society are seriously committed to taking education to all children,
it should begin by listening to children and their needs. It should
ensure that the time spent by the child in school is valid and valued
– for the present and the future.
Every single child we work with values ‘education’,
however, they do not find this within the formal system today. Along
with Shakespeare and Mahatma Gandhi they also want to learn about
their rights and roles in the society. When they learn maths and
science, they need to know how to apply that to their real lives.
Besides wanting knowledge for its own sake, they also need to be able
to learn a vocation that will improve their and their communities a
better quality of life. While learning about the Moguls and the Aryans
they also need to know about the history of their village. Children
want to know about their bodies, reproduction, and prevention of
deadly diseases like AIDS.
If our schooling can ensure all this, then
compulsion will not be required to motivate children and their
families to participate actively in education. Our own experience in
our field programmes in Karnataka and those of several other NGOs has
proved this beyond doubt. These are lessons our Governments could
benefit from and take to scale.
In the light of the above realities, we sincerely hope that you
will reconsider your statement and frame a policy that is more
compassionate of the poor and understanding of their needs.
Thanking you,
Nandana Reddy,
Director, Development
The Concerned for Working Children
