Saturday, October 25, 2003

Blessed are those in whose hearts faith flows freely and whose dreams are shaped by their hopes with the heralding of the New Year, bringing in peace and happiness around us.

We wish all "A Happy Diwali & Happy New Year".
May your dreams turn true.

As the new year brings in new hope, A new law in the making will allow local authorities to haul up parents who don’t send their children to school and make people pay a fine for employing children.The provisions are part of The Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill, meant to give teeth to the 86th constitutional amendment. The human resources development ministry hopes to introduce the new bill in Parliament in the Winter Session.

The draft bill proposes a web of bureaucracy to ensure that every child aged between six and 14 gets education — free if his parents can’t afford it — at a school or a centre of alternative education. Unless there is a "reasonable excuse," it says, "it shall be the duty of the parent and guardian of every child to cause the child to attend an approved school."

If they don’t, the parents will be sent an "attendance order" from the local authority. If they still don’t comply, the case will end up with a "conciliatory body" — say a village education committee, also proposed by the bill. If this doesn’t work out in two months, the local authority will take "necessary action."

In 1971, some 780 million people over the age of 15 were illiterate. The 25 poorest nations of the world have rates of illiteracy in excess of 80 percent. Now, as years roll, the illiteracy rate is getting lower but yet, there is dire need esp. for the children who labor for money work wee hours without getting any education. This is the right step now at the peak but one wonders Child Labor is widespread in India - Why India? Almost all over the world! The poverty has become a compulsion for many families that a child carries the work burdern instead of school books so as to earn the bread and butter for a living.

We cant change the world but sure, we can make a little difference by our action to Stop Child Labour and this action of The Free and Compulsory Education for Children Bill brings hopes for a winds of change!

Keep the faith

-ilaxi