School Dropouts CRY

Many problems of the state's poor children were brought to the fore in an event organized by the NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY), where children were brought to Bangalore from across the state.

From DNA,
Rekha, 14, from Hassan district said, "I have studied till class 9. My teacher used to compare me with students from the upper castes, and ask me not to come to school at all.
Not just that, the school had no toilet or drinking water, and roof was the sort that might just cave in. I would like to study, but not at that school, not with that teacher."

There were at least 200 children at the public hearing, who poured out their complaints to a panel comprising CS Dwarkanath, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, Mathew Philips, director, South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, (SICHREM), education activist Nandini and High Court advocate BT Venkatesh. The panel submitted its recommendations to CRY.

Three recommendations

The right of children to free and compulsory education should be extended to cover all children in the age group 0 - 8. Every habitation should have a school within one km.

Eduction is the responsibility of the state, and all children between 0-18 years should be able to avail it.

All schools should have teachers trained to teach children with disability. And all disabled children too should have easy access to schools. All children should be treated equally at school; stringent action should be initiated against school authorities found violating the provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.

Allocate minimum of 10% of GDP to school education alone (10+2) Make human rights and gender education compulsory in school curriculum.

Let us hope something come out of this exercise.