Right to Education - a long wait in Uttar Pradesh

When in Hazratganj - the posh shopping area of Lucknow city - people gathered in support of Right to Education Act, I spotted a kid (6-7 years old). His clothes were tattered and face was full of dust and grime. He was unaware of the event and its importance. He was there only because he saw a crowd there, which he found useful for him.

The kid was begging - lost in the crowd of grown ups.

He came to me also and I fired my curiosity at him, `hey, do you know what is happening here?' the kid looked at me with blank eyes and shook his head in negative. My curiosity was now reached its boiling stage. I asked another question, `do you have any idea about Right to Education?' The kid gave me a strange look and apparently taking me as a waste of time, he walked into the crowd - may be to a better client.

I stood there for a while shell-shocked - thinking.

The congregation was to gather support in favour of the Right to Education Act.

In 2002 the Indian government declared education a constitutional right after making an amendment in the constitution. This amendment was followed by Right to Education Act which was brought in 2010 and which made education compulsory for children between the age of 6-14.

The Indian government also made budgetary provisions for the implementation of the Act. Each state was asked to make its rules as per its requirements, so that the law could be enacted. The states were also asked to share a small portion of the financial burden only to make them committed to the cause.

A year has passed since then but the government in Uttar Pradesh is yet to formulate the rules to implement the law. Presently the state is basking in the glory of current census which has established the fact that the literacy rate in the state has gone up from 56 percent in 2001 census to almost 70 percent in the 2011 census.

Lost in my thoughts, I spotted the young boy again. Standing in the middle of the crowd scratching his unkempt hair with one hand while holding the begging bowl in the other.

I started wondering -- if this is the attitude of our governments, what would happen to children like him.

His presence in the elite crowd, demanding the government to implement the Right to Education law, was conspicuous. I wondered at the apathy of this government in Uttar Pradesh, which can easily spend billions of rupees in erecting monuments and statues but feels so tightfisted when it comes to investing on education of our children - the future of this nation.