78 kids found to be out of school from Colaba to Mahim

Nearly 350 children were admitted to schools run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the city under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA).

A survey conducted to create awareness about the right to education has found that most of the children, who were out of school, belonged to the migrants or were orphans working as child labourers. Around 78 children were found to be out of school from Colaba to Mahim.

“Most of these children belonged to migrants who are unable to afford education to their children. Many of them did not have documents like birth certificate and hence could not enroll in schools. We conducted awareness programmes for such students and told them that schools can admit them on the basis of ration cards as well. We were able to enroll them in civic schools since they cannot afford the fees of private schools,” said an SSA official from Western suburbs.

Farida Lambay, founder director of Pratham, said: “Around 47% of children have not studied in pre-schools. Now, the organisation is working on a programme to enroll children in pre-schools. While early education is important as it shapes the child’s personality, most of the children unfortunately do not go to pre-schools. We are looking at training women from underprivileged background in early childhood care and so that they can teach in balwadis. We are also considering starting mobile balwadis.”

Lambay said that anganwadis are important as they provide early childhood care to the children and even pregnant women thus bringing down infant mortality rate.