Nearly eight years after the Constitution was amended to make education a fundamental right, the government today implemented a historic law to provide free and compulsory education to all children in age group of 6-14 years.
The 86th Constitutional amendment making education a fundamental right was passed by Parliament in 2002. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, a law to enable the implementation of the fundamental right, was passed by Parliament last year. Both the Constitutional amendment and the new law came into force from today.
The new law makes it obligatory on part of the state governments and local bodies to ensure that every child gets education in a school in the neighbourhood.
Its implementation will directly benefit close to one crore children who do not go to schools at present. These children, who have either dropped out from schools or have never been to any educational institution, will be enrolled in schools.
The Right To Education is being touted by the UPA government as another major achievement after Right To Information Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
At present, there are nearly 22 crore children in the relevant age group. However, 4.6 per cent of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are out of school, a ministry official said.
The school management committee or the local authority will identify the drop-outs or out of school children above six years of age and admit them in classes appropriate to their age after giving special training.
The Act makes it a right of every child to get education. The Act makes it obligatory for the appropriate governments to ensure that every child gets free elementary education.
The Act mandates that even private educational institutions have to reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections.
The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the Act.
The Act says no school can deny admission to a student and all schools need to have trained teachers. In case of schools not having trained teachers, they will have to comply with the provision within three years.
As per the new law, the schools need to have certain minimum facilities like adequate teachers, playground and infrastructure. The government will evolve some mechanism to help marginalised schools comply with the provisions of the Act.
The new law will ensure that quality education is provided to children of all community, including minorities and backward classes.
However, the reservation for weaker section will not be implemented from this year as the admission season is almost over. It will be implemented from 2011-12
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Support MelJol at the Sunfeast World 10k Bangalore 2010
Sunfeast World 10K 2010 – Bangalore
Event Summary
The Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore 2010 is one of the world's most prestigious 10km runs. This event is promoted by Procam International, ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), and conducted under the aegis of The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and The Karnataka Amateur Athletics Association (KAAA).
When: 23rd May 2010 (Race day)
Where: Bangalore
How Can You Make a Difference??
World over distance running events are revered for the emotional connect they establish in the hearts and minds of the citizens. It brings together the common man, the corporate czar, the politician, the socialite and the physically challenged onto one platform. It motivates the grandmother and grandson, across the generational divide, to set personal targets and record personal triumphs. It is an event that stirs the conscience of every citizen, encouraging them to reach out, in aid of a cause or charity.
Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore has set an example as to how a distance running event can become a great tool for the voluntary sector. In its second edition itself in year 2009, the event was used as a platform to raise Rs. 1.31 crores (300% more than what was raised in the inaugural year), benefiting 81 NGOs working for varied causes.
Its now time for Bangaloreans to put their best foot forward and show the nation and the world at large, that they care!!! This is your chance to set an example, to make yourself happier and make friends with that section of our society which truly needs the support.
You can make a difference in one or both these ways:
1) Run for an NGO as a Care Participant
2) Donate to an NGO
1) A Care Participant participates in the run and also raises funds for a selected participating charity.
Categories are:
* iCare: Individual runners who raise whatever amount they can.
* Care Champion: Individual runners who commit to raise a minimum of Rs. 1 lakh.
* Corporate Cares: Companies who contribute Rs.1.5 lakh up front.
Care Participants complete the Run Entry process as per their category, and select an NGO from the Participating Charities registered with Bangalore Cares for the event. Funds are raised via donations from family, friends, clients, employees, colleagues, classmates, etc. who contribute any amount they can in support of the charity. Before Race Day, Care Participants must submit all amounts to Bangalore Cares for processing and consolidation.
2) Donate to an NGO Even if you are not running, you can support a participating charity of your choice. Here's how: ICare Support a friend running for a charity as "iCare" with a cash / cheque’s / DD donation in the name of that charity. Or, use your friend's appeal page on the Bangalore Cares to donate online to the charity.
Care Champion Select from the list of Care Champions participating in the run, and make a donation to the charity they are running for. Corporate Cares Select from the list of companies supporting a cause in the run and make a donation to the charity they are running for.
Come Support Us at http://www.bangalorecares.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=366:meljol&catid=71:humanrights&directory=95
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Maniram Raut - The Real Mani (Jewel)
Maniram Raut, son of Miron Raut, has 4 siblings - 2 brothers & 2 sisters. Maniram belongs to an extremely poor family with his father earning a meagre income of less than Rs.50/- per day. He is the youngest member in his family. While both his sisters are married, his elder brother failed to clear his Std 10 exams. As a result, his elder brother works with his father as a labourer.
When the CSFE programme was initiated in his school, Maniram was in Std 6. He participated in the programme and learned more about the importance and power of saving. It was not long before he decided to save.
Maniram was aware of the unfortunate financial condition of his family and there was a strong urge within him to do something to support his family. The outcome of this was in him withdrawing an amount of Rs.100/ from his Aflatoun Bank account in July 2008 & initiating a small business of selling and delivering bread to nearby villages.
Every evening he procured bread from local vendors and sold the same bread at 5.30 am to households in the nearby villages of Haldi, Vajipalla and Bhainsmundi. He would get home by 8. 30 am and go to school. The result on the whole was in Maniram earning Rs. 30/- to Rs.40/- daily without compromising on his education.
Not only is he supporting his family in whatever way he can, he also is completing his education and still manages to save in his Aflatoun Bank account. Maniram’s teachers Mr. Kishore Chandra Kar and other villagers opine Maniram Raut is a real Mani (Jewel).
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Greater Incentives for Tribal Girls Education!!!!
Incentive to tribal girls attending school needs to be increased
The Karegaon Ashram School is located in the lush green hilly area on the way to Mokhada, in Thane district. It is almost 30 kms from Kasara and this Ashram school run for tribal children is from class 1 to class 12. The 5th 6th & 7th classes are located at the foothills while all other classes are on the top of the hill. It is really sad to see that the number of tribal girls pursuing school education is half the number of boys. There are only 251 girls while there are 441 boys in this school. This is despite tribal girls being given an incentive of Rs. 50 per month for attending school. Girls from class I to IV are given Re. 1 per day of attendance while girls from V to VII are given Rs. 50 per month and from class VIII to X are given Rs. 100 per month. This incentive is a very good idea because teachers think it does help the tribal families that get this money. But if we reflect on the amount it is rather paltry as the amount given at the end of the month is equivalent to one day’s wages!. The government needs to think of increasing this amount.
Well, atleast double this amount.
The Karegaon Ashram School has constructed a small hall for the children which they call the ‘MelJol hall’ and all MelJol activities are conducted in this hall or in the open, just outside the hall. Shri. L. M Ahire is the teacher who has undergone MelJol training in the past 2 years and conducts all MelJol activities in full gusto. After undergoing the training this year, he came back to the school and immediately had a one day camp for the children where he taught them the MelJol songs he had learnt and also conducted the games that were conducted at the training. That included the group division game called ‘dongarala aag lagli palla’, the game on savings using 10 small pebbles, and the introductions game where participants stand in 2 concentric circles and introduce oneself to person standing opposite them and likewise also get to know the other person.
Children have also formed Aflatoun clubs and they have 3 girls and 3 boys who are the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the club. They take the MelJol songs twice in the week. The children are saving money in the Aflatoun bank. These children give money in small amounts of Re.1 or 2 and have small amounts of say Rs.10 or Rs 20 in their personal accounts. A printed pass book format was shown to the children and they have now prepared their own tiny pass books and drawn beautiful pictures on the covers. They really look like children’s pass books. The days for operating the Aflatoun bank account are Monday and Saturday between 12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. The children like to deposit money in the bank. They sometimes withdraw Rs. 2 or 5 to buy pens, pencils, sharpener or books. The girls sometimes buy hair ribbons or hair clips with their saved money. The number of girls saving in the bank is half the number of boys and efforts are being taken to enthuse the girls to also save money. The incentive money given by the government to these tribal girls could have been saved by them in the Aflatoun banks but it is instead taken away by their parents to be used for household needs.
The incentive given by Government to tribal girls attending school indeed needs to be increased!
The Karegaon Ashram School is located in the lush green hilly area on the way to Mokhada, in Thane district. It is almost 30 kms from Kasara and this Ashram school run for tribal children is from class 1 to class 12. The 5th 6th & 7th classes are located at the foothills while all other classes are on the top of the hill. It is really sad to see that the number of tribal girls pursuing school education is half the number of boys. There are only 251 girls while there are 441 boys in this school. This is despite tribal girls being given an incentive of Rs. 50 per month for attending school. Girls from class I to IV are given Re. 1 per day of attendance while girls from V to VII are given Rs. 50 per month and from class VIII to X are given Rs. 100 per month. This incentive is a very good idea because teachers think it does help the tribal families that get this money. But if we reflect on the amount it is rather paltry as the amount given at the end of the month is equivalent to one day’s wages!. The government needs to think of increasing this amount.
Well, atleast double this amount.
The Karegaon Ashram School has constructed a small hall for the children which they call the ‘MelJol hall’ and all MelJol activities are conducted in this hall or in the open, just outside the hall. Shri. L. M Ahire is the teacher who has undergone MelJol training in the past 2 years and conducts all MelJol activities in full gusto. After undergoing the training this year, he came back to the school and immediately had a one day camp for the children where he taught them the MelJol songs he had learnt and also conducted the games that were conducted at the training. That included the group division game called ‘dongarala aag lagli palla’, the game on savings using 10 small pebbles, and the introductions game where participants stand in 2 concentric circles and introduce oneself to person standing opposite them and likewise also get to know the other person.
Children have also formed Aflatoun clubs and they have 3 girls and 3 boys who are the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the club. They take the MelJol songs twice in the week. The children are saving money in the Aflatoun bank. These children give money in small amounts of Re.1 or 2 and have small amounts of say Rs.10 or Rs 20 in their personal accounts. A printed pass book format was shown to the children and they have now prepared their own tiny pass books and drawn beautiful pictures on the covers. They really look like children’s pass books. The days for operating the Aflatoun bank account are Monday and Saturday between 12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. The children like to deposit money in the bank. They sometimes withdraw Rs. 2 or 5 to buy pens, pencils, sharpener or books. The girls sometimes buy hair ribbons or hair clips with their saved money. The number of girls saving in the bank is half the number of boys and efforts are being taken to enthuse the girls to also save money. The incentive money given by the government to these tribal girls could have been saved by them in the Aflatoun banks but it is instead taken away by their parents to be used for household needs.
The incentive given by Government to tribal girls attending school indeed needs to be increased!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
MelJol Teacher Training
Mr. Vasudev D. Patil working as a teacher with Zilla Parishad School Bhoyacha Paada, Taluka Mokhada, District Thane attended the workshop again this year in Sept. 2009. He has earlier attended a MelJol workshop 6 years ago. Since he has been associated with MelJol since 6 years, he shared his experiences of the Aflatoun programme in his school and was an enthusiastic participant in this workshop. He also took 3 MelJol songs in the course of the workshop. He taught the songs with actions et all to the others. He said that the Aflatoun bank in his school has collected Rs. 261 in it. The children use their money to buy books, pens or pencils, etc.
Teachers take the MelJol curriculum in the 6th or 7th period twice every week. Mr. Patil has even been part of the State Level Meeting of Trainers organized by MelJol in 2003 held at Sajan and remembers that experience with joy.
It is with support from such teachers as Patil Sir that MelJol is able to achieve it’s objectives of giving social and financial education to children. Patil Sir, happy to have you as a part of the MelJol family!!!
Teachers take the MelJol curriculum in the 6th or 7th period twice every week. Mr. Patil has even been part of the State Level Meeting of Trainers organized by MelJol in 2003 held at Sajan and remembers that experience with joy.
It is with support from such teachers as Patil Sir that MelJol is able to achieve it’s objectives of giving social and financial education to children. Patil Sir, happy to have you as a part of the MelJol family!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Aflatoun Effect - Nimani School, Korpana Block, Chandrapur District
The children from Nimani School have formed Aflatoun Bank and collectively saved Rs 12000/-. They have nominated representatives such as President, Secretary and Treasurer through a secret ballot system. The village education committee is aware about the banking programme and they are also providing full support and encouragement.
On the other hand, the teachers and children have purchased school stationery from the market and have set up a small shop to sell the material in the school because of demand from the children. Children have developed their passbooks and they record their monetary transactions habitually with the help of the Secretary. Most of the children are utilizing their money to take care of education related expenses.
The Aflatoun Concept
Heres a bit more on the Aflatoun Programme that we implement across India:
The five core elements of the Aflatoun concept are:
1) Personal Understanding and Exploration : Children investigate their own personal values. Through exploration of citizenship ideas and interaction with peers each choose the values that they feel are right for them.
2) Rights and Responsibilities : Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), which identifies four sets of interdependent rights. Through this programme children are made aware of responsibilities towards themselves, their family, the environment and their community.
3) Saving and Spending: Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal systems but also on specific, practical skills. Children learn how to save and spend in a responsible manner.
4) Planning and Budgeting: Financial Empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximise their life choices. For eg, a consistent savings habit can enable a child to stay in school longer when payment for education is required.
5) Child Social Entrepreneurship: Children are encouraged to view themselves as active participants in shaping their community. Through managing community activities or entrepreneurial enterprises, children begin to sewe how they can have a positive impact on the community.
So...how do we at MelJol do this????
MelJol works in partnership with the education system. We tie up with other NGOs and have an extensive network. We conduct training programmes with well designed modules to develop the capacities of NGO staff, teachers and trainers. The teachers alongwith volunteers then conduct sessions. The books developed by us aid them in conducting sessions effectively.
The five core elements of the Aflatoun concept are:
1) Personal Understanding and Exploration : Children investigate their own personal values. Through exploration of citizenship ideas and interaction with peers each choose the values that they feel are right for them.
2) Rights and Responsibilities : Aflatoun is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), which identifies four sets of interdependent rights. Through this programme children are made aware of responsibilities towards themselves, their family, the environment and their community.
3) Saving and Spending: Financial empowerment hinges not only on constructive personal systems but also on specific, practical skills. Children learn how to save and spend in a responsible manner.
4) Planning and Budgeting: Financial Empowerment is achieved when children use their saving and spending skills to maximise their life choices. For eg, a consistent savings habit can enable a child to stay in school longer when payment for education is required.
5) Child Social Entrepreneurship: Children are encouraged to view themselves as active participants in shaping their community. Through managing community activities or entrepreneurial enterprises, children begin to sewe how they can have a positive impact on the community.
So...how do we at MelJol do this????
MelJol works in partnership with the education system. We tie up with other NGOs and have an extensive network. We conduct training programmes with well designed modules to develop the capacities of NGO staff, teachers and trainers. The teachers alongwith volunteers then conduct sessions. The books developed by us aid them in conducting sessions effectively.
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