Dipchand Bihari
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 25: The Right to Education Act (RTE), mandating free and compulsory education to children till the age of 14, has failed to achieve the desired impact if the number of homeless children on the streets is anything to go by.
Eking out the barest of a living through menial work, or by begging (more often than not), these children’s future continues to be at stake, which is largely due to their families.
Despite numerous provisions of the Act which mandate that every child, regardless of their economic or social background, is given access to elementary education, several underprivileged families are reluctant to send their children to school as, in their words, the long-term benefits that education brings are clouded by the everyday travails of hunger, oppression and stark poverty.
Many such ‘street children’, are deprived of an education and are pushed into begging by their families, who use the money to buy a square meal a day.
Acknowledging the issue, Ghasiram Panda, programme manager at Action Aid (NGO), said there are some issues with how the RTE Act is implemented. “The government has framed good norms and regulations for shaping the future of children by providing free education. However, the mechanism is too slow to execute it in the proper way. Integrated Children Protection Scheme (ICPS), Child Welfare Committee, and District Child Protection Unit are already set up in Orissa, but they don’t work in tandem and consequently, poor children are often found across various joints in the city,” Panda said.
“NGOs are working for the cause of these children but the work cannot continue as the NGOs often grapple with a shortage of funds. If the government acts proactively and coordinates with NGOs for proper implementation of the Act, many benefits can be extended to the needy,” Panda added.
As per the norms of RTE, elementary education is a must for all children in schools. Besides, Acts like Child Protection Act have also been framed for the welfare of street children who are potentially ‘unsafe’. A quarter of seats are reserved in schools for students from underprivileged sections.
“The government is only framing norms and regulations but never thinks about funds which are needed to effectively implement the programme. Yes, the norms laid down by the government are appreciable but there is not enough of a budget. When grants are released in a proper way, we can expect better development of street children,” said Jugal Kishore Mohanty, principal of Buxi Jagabandhu English Medium School.
Nevbertheless, many children enrolled in several government schools often do not attend classes regularly. Many often flock to schools solely to avail free food provided by schools as part of the Midday Meal Scheme.
“Parents have to be sensitised so that children continue classes and take benefits of the RTE act. If parents do not cooperate, it is difficult for the government to help them. Therefore, we need assistance from both sides for the future of these children,” said S Kumar, teacher, SC/ST School, Rasulgarh.
Bhaskar Pradhan, member of Centre for Children & Women Development (CCWD), said, “The government is building residential schools for people of all classes. But if the parents do not send their wards to school and do not cooperate with government schemes, the schemes are bound to fail.”
