The second phase of a statewide survey to ascertain the number of out-of-school children in the age group 6-14 (according to the Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, it is the duty of the Central and state governments — especially the latter — to ensure that all children in that age group are in school) in Maharashtra (pop.112 million), conducted by the incumbent BJP government, says that a mere 11,000 children are out of school. The first phase of the survey conducted last July reported 58,000 children out of school. Both these figures have stretched the credibility of education activists and NGOs in the state, some of whom are contemplating legal action against the government for misleading the public. Speaking to your correspondent on February 27, Dr. Suvarna Kharat, deputy secretary, education ministry, maintained that a mere 11,000 children in that age group were found to be out of school in Maharashtra on February 4 this year. On the other hand, education activists in Maharashtra estimate that the actual number of children in the 6-14 age bracket, who are not enrolled in school or have not attended school for the past 30 days, is 500,000-700,000. “According to Union labour ministry data, there are 496,000 children working as child labour in the state — the second highest after Uttar Pradesh. If to this number, we add the children of migrant labour working on sugarcane farms, brick kilns and stone quarries, the number of out-of-school children cited by the education ministry is absurd,” says Heramb Kulkarni, an Akola-based activist and nodal convener of the second phase of the survey, who resigned his position to protest the government’s lack of seriousness in collecting data. The official number of out-of-school children in the state is also contradicted by a 185,000 figure quoted by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or Education for All programme in 2014-15. SSA, which was introduced in 2001 by the BJP-led NDA government (1999-2004), was subsequently adopted by the Congress-led UPA government (2004-14) and integrated into the RTE Act, which mandates and funds out-of-school children surveys. In 2015-16, the state’s budget allocated Rs.1,690 crore for the Central government-sponsored SSA. Yet, education department officials are reluctant to share details about the budgetary allocation made for the statewide survey that spanned all 36 districts and 356 talukas, and involved 350,000 National Service Scheme (NSS) students who were roped in to gather data. Even as disappointed NGOs are demanding a fresh survey to be conducted under high court supervision, education ministry officials claim success on the basis of the outcome of the second phase of the survey. “The state has already enrolled 49,000 of the 58,000 who were out of school in 2015. We will continue our efforts until all children are in school statewide,” says Nand Kumar, principal secretary (Maharashtra school education and sports department). Confronted with a barrage of criticism for conducting a deeply flawed if not cosmetic survey, to project the state’s BJP government in good…
