The Uttar Pradesh government on April 1, continued the ‘SHARDA’ (School Har Din Aayein) [Come to school every day] initiative for the academic year 2023-24, to enroll such kids in the age group of seven to fourteen years who are not enrolled in school education system, or need to be readmitted as they have dropped out from educational institutions.
As per the directive issued by the Director General, School Education, Vijay Kiran Anand, under the campaign, a provision for readmission of all out-of-school children is made. Such children can be divided into two categories — those who have never been enrolled in school and others who were earlier enrolled but left midway.
The State government instructed school principals, shikshamitras, teachers and instructors to hold a household survey in order to identify out-of-school children and enroll them in classes that are appropriate for their age. It was estimated that more than 3.5% pupils in the age group of 7-14 years, were not enrolled in educational institutions across U.P.
The flagship programme of the Department of Basic Education has been going on for the last few years.
Right to free education
As per the provisions in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education to Children Act, 2009, pupils in the age group of 6-14 years who are out of school, were to be demarcated and enrolled in age-appropriate classes. Special training would be arranged for them.
The U.P. government decided to initiate the campaign in two phases. In the first phase, children would be identified and enrolled in age-appropriate classes from April 1, 2023 to May 15, 2023, while in the second, identification and enrollment of children of families affected by seasonal migration in age-appropriate classes would be done from July 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023.
Besides, identification of out-of-school children with special needs would also be carried out simultaneously, followed by their enrollment in age-appropriate classes.
Earlier, U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that not a single child was deprived of school. “Guardians must send their wards to school. U.P. can achieve 100% literacy only when every child goes to school. A fully literate population will be a big asset for the State,” said Mr. Adityanath.
