Children call for a Common School System in Gujarat
Schools in Gujarat are Plagued by Poor Midday Meals and Untouchability, says Report  

Ahmedabad, 21 February 2008: The Jan Haq Yatra, a people's rally on the need to ensure basic rights, culminated today in a summit on the right to quality education in Ahmedabad. In Gujarat, two major issues emerged for dalit and other marginalized children: The practice of untouchability in schools and the poor quality of midday meals. A delegation from the Yatra including children, presented a list of demands to the Chief Minister's office in Ahmedabad.

The Yatra has toured Gujarat's 19 districts, traveling through about 4000 villages and towns. The Yatra is a way to bring together issues common to the poorest people in Gujarat and to spread awareness on the common school system.

Over 100 children from villages and slums across Gujarat participated in the summit and placed their experience with schooling in Gujarat. Eleven-year-old Shilpaben, said, "My school did not even have a toilet. The midday meal was very little and of poor quality. For all these reasons, I was forced to drop out of school." The midday meal scheme has been criticized by villages and slums across Gujarat's 15 districts, for its extremely poor quality. 

"I study in a private school. My parents are poor and my teachers beat me if I don't pay the fees on time. The government school which does not take fees, is too far -- four km from home,. I have no choice but to stop going to school because of this," said Taspriya, an 11-year-old girl from Vatva village from rural Ahmedabad.
   
Speaking at the seminar, Balwant Singh from Child Rights and You (CRY) said, "Privatisation is taking away children's basic right to go to a free, quality school. The Common School System a system of neighborhood schools that addresses children's fundamental right to quality education has been ratified by the government's National Policy on Education in 1986 but has not been implemented."

A survey report from 110 schools across 10 districts of Gujarat was released at the summit. The main findings are:

• In many places, the midday meal scheme provides poor quality, unhygienic food that is unsafe for children. The foodgrain used is contaminated by stones and was worm-infected. 
• Teachers and cooks often practice untouchability in serving food, directly violating Article 17 of the Indian Constitution. SC children are forced to sit at the back of the class and actively discouraged from participating in class.
• Corporal punishment, outlawed in states like Orissa, is a grim reality of school children's lives today. 47% of the 110 schools surveyed were found to be practicing corporal punishment, with punishments ranging from beating with sticks to slapping.

Main points from the list of demands to the Chief Minister:

• Stop the practice of untouchability in schools
• Make sure that midday meals of required calorific value are served to children.  Make sure that every school has safe drinking water facilities.
• Make schools accessible to the dalits, Muslims, Maldharis of Gujarat. Each and every village or slum must have a school.
• Make sure there are adequate numbers of teachers in every school. Make sure teachers are not assigned census and other tasks, that directly affects teaching.
• Make school finances and management transparent and accountable to parents and children.    

Note to Editors
Buniyadi Adhikar Andolan (Gujarat) is an alliance of 80 organizations from all across Gujarat. For more information, contact The BAAG Secretariat at baag_india@yahoo.co.in

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