These children fight for right to education

BANGALORE: Karnataka is sure making strides in the education field, but children from various parts of the state on Monday narrated how inaccessible schools were. These children chose Children's Day to fight for their right to education.
Fifteen-year-old Akkama Beerappa from Raichur said 10 to 15 girls drop out after class 8 in her village. A school dropout herself, Akkama said their school has only up to eighth standard. "If we have to pursue our studies, we have to travel nearly 15km from our village. Spending Rs 30 to commute to school daily is beyond our means as my mother is a daily wage labourer,'' she said.
Besides, there is just one bus to her village. "The infrastructure is so bad that no buses reach our village during rainy season. Nearly 15 girls in my batch passed out last year. But only 5 could pursue their education. This is the case every year. We want a high school in our village so that we could also study," she said.
Akkama along with her friends has formed a Hyderabad Karnataka Vimochana Vedike Children's Collective to fight for their rights. They have given a memorandum to the panchayat asking it to build a high school in their village. "We are hopeful that a government school will be sanctioned next year," Akkamma said.
Hussanamma Jhambappa, 14, from Ganjhalli village in Yadlapur in Bidar too said they have to travel 7km to reach their school. "We have met the district judge and written a letter to the state human right commission on this issue. After our sustained efforts, the district block education officer visited our village and sanctioned ninth standard. The officer has given an assurance that it will be upgraded to 10th standard by 2012," Hussanamma, also the vice president of the children's committee, said.
Hailing from Terabhavi, Amaresh Kariappa, 14, spoke on how they struggled to get a bus facility from their village to school. "We took our books and lunch boxes and sat on the road to stop the bus. The news appeared in local papers and we submitted a memorandum to the KSRTC bus depot manager. After our efforts, the depot manager agreed to send a government bus to our village," said Amaresh with pride.
Manjunath N, 15, from Kolar district said: "We discuss about the problems students face and also necessary action that needs to be taken at our meetings.''