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INDIA : Some eight million children in India between the ages of 6 and 14 are not enrolled in schools.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are nearly 165 million child labourers in India.
They mostly work as rag pickers and earn about half a dollar a day. They come from large families who are too poor to send them to school.
Education is a distant dream that they share with nearly 40 per cent of India's illiterate population.
"Child labour issue is very serious in India. Even on the streets of Delhi or on the crossings of Delhi, you find children either selling books or magazines, or simply begging. The government's response to this has been very poor and concern is growing as to what will be done for child labour, or for those children who (can't)... go to school," said JS Rajput, an education expert.
While the government has now made education a right of all children till the age of 14, getting the kids to school is a tough task.
But there are some innovative ideas.
Chhatisgarh state has come up with a scheme called "Adopt A Girl" which is helping to boost the female literacy rate.
Under the scheme, girls living in slums are given free textbooks, stationery and a school bag. They also get mentors who personally ensure that the girls stay in school.
"If common people fund the education of a single child, it's no more than US$6 a year. Since we started the 'Adopt A Girl' scheme, the education of 20,000 girls has been funded," said Brijmohan Agarwal, Education Minister for Chhatisgarh state.
Other organisations are hoping to attract children to attend school by changing the syllabus.
While subjects like history and physics may not make sense to tribal children of Orissa, learning about weaving, sculpting and tailoring do.
The schools are run especially for dropouts, where they are taught vocational skills along with subjects like English and Maths.
"Three years ago, I dropped out after Class 5. But when this school opened, many girls like me returned. I am glad to be back. The studies here are not boring and we get to learn a lot of things," said Sushima Shisa, a student.
But a lot more still needs to be done to restructure the country's education system.
Many children in India have to walk miles to reach a school.
Sometimes there are not enough teachers, and schools are just dilapidated shacks.
Analysts said that without addressing these issues, the right to education cannot be implemented effectively in the country.
India spends less on education than countries such as China, Vietnam and Cuba. Clearly, by just spending 4 percent of its GDP, India cannot hope to achieve the goal of universal primary education. - CNA /ls
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