Mamta Patra is an NGO founder and a Community Correspondent. As a child, Mamta saw her father arrested by police on a fake case. This early experience set the direction for her life, which she has since dedicated to fighting inequality and corruption. Due to the injustice to her family, Mamta has familiarised herself with the laws which are meant to afford…
As we kick off "Pass Ya Fail", our campaign on Right to Education in India, this week we bring you compelling evidence on the lack of access to education in the country.
"After passing the Right To Education Act in 2010, the government has forgotten its duty. This is why Sunita Dehury and 30 other children from Gadakhol village, Odisha have stopped going to elementary school and have been denied opportunities to get a quality education", says Community Correspondent Mamta Patra.
As she gathered evidence for this video, Mamta interviewed several children from the community. The school closest to the village is in Jhadagaon which is 6 km away. The hilly route from the middle of a jungle makes it unsafe for the children, especially girls, to attend this school. Add to this the inconvenience of the monsoon.
The RTE Act has a provision for neighbourhood schools under which each child should have access to a school no further than 3 kilometres away.
"Who would accompany me every day? So I stopped going", says Dutika who has dropped out after the 5th grade.
These signs a re worrying and Odisha's female literacy rate of 60% is a telltale sign of the ailing system. You can make sure that by this time next year, Sunita, Dutika and their friends will be in school.
Call to Action: Please call Sabyasachi Hota, District Project Coordinator on 09437136925 and ask that a school gets constructed and teachers appointed in Gadakhol village, Odisha.
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