To: Prime Minister of India

We The People Of India Protest Against The Indian Government's Refusal
to Enact The Crucial Right To Education Bill !

We demand that the Bill be tabled in parliament by this winter session, discussed by our representatives, and passed immediately!

Why are we protesting? What is the situation of education for most children in India?

·Most children in India go to government schools, many of which do not even have a roof, leave alone other essential facilities. Children may not even be able to read after spending eight years in school! The situation in many private schools is just as bad.

·One of the most common reasons for children dropping out of school and becoming child labourers is that their local schools are not functioning or not teaching them anything worthwhile.

What are we protesting? What has the Indian Government done and where has it failed?

·The Indian Government has made education a fundamental right by a constitutional amendment

·It has drafted a Right to Education Bill and circulated the draft for wider debate.

·It has now abdicated all responsibility by deciding not to table the bill, and sending it to state governments as a 'model'

The Right to Education cannot become a reality without a strong central legislation to support it. We demand the Right to Free and Compulsory Education for ALL children in India!

Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), Maharashtra, India
Action for the Rights of the Child (ARC), Pune, India

Sincerely