We all have seen young kids running around on the traffic signals, begging or selling titbits or working in dhabas, etc. For bringing such children into education stream, SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) has a component called ‘Intervention for Out of School Children’ under which NGOs are contracted to formulate suitable schemes. However one of the common problems is that the contracting out process is so protracted that the children which the NGO plans to bring under those schemes, often move away by the time the NGO gets the official sanction.
Delhi Govt. has announced that it will operate 30 mobile schools to reach out to such children. It has also received Rs 7.5 crores for the same under SSA. Mobile school will have facilities like computers, LCD screen TV, books, etc. trying to replicate a school atmosphere. Children will initially study in these schools for 3 months and then will be admitted to mainstream schools. These mobile schools will be run by NGOs. The Govt. says that it has already empanelled 30 NGOs.
Delhi Govt. has been running 2 of these schools on pilot basis and is now planning to run upto 30, covering the entire capital. However the fact also remains that there is no movement since Feb’2011, when the expansion was announced. Let’s wait to see how the scheme gets implemented in reality.
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