Slum Children in India Lack Schools and Educational Facilities

Successive surveys and researches in Delhi - the national capital city of India revealed that one fourth of the children living in the slums are not school children. Besides the inaccessibility of education by the slum children, there are also other problems ravaging the slum dwellers in Delhi city such as absence of health facilities, unemployment, absence of civic facilities and other socio-economic problems.

A national city that harbors the wealthiest citizens, have massive number of children of school age who do not go to school. With the various surveys and researches, it means that just slightly above 70 percent of Delhi children go to school contrary to the national average of 94 percent. The presiding person over Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights have stated that the city tend to be quiet about implementing alternative means of education to help in fostering education especially in the slums.

The educational difference between the rich and poor in India capital city is very large as revealed by another research. The survey was taken from several households (over 11,000 households) in slum clusters. According to the report of the survey, the percentage of graduates in these several slum clusters is only 4, while only 8 percent had passed Class XII. Also, the report shows that less than 21 percent of the children have completed their elementary education and 15 percent their primary education. A good number of slum children are rather engaged in picking items disposed by the rich class or engage in other manual activities all day rather than go to school.

Another report published few years back showed that more than 50 percent of parents in slums are faced with several problems that prevent them from sending their children to school. About 92 percent of the parents consider education as being costly; and that the kids have to help in doing some menial jobs to get money for the support of their welfare. Even those in school tend to drop out soon as a result of lack of fund to continue. This is evidenced by a report that shows the dropout rate of children in India in connection with the low income of their parents.

On the other hand, certain educationists are of the opinion that lack of education among parents, coupled with economic security is the major obstruction to children's education in India, especially in the slums. Also, frequent flooding of the school buildings in the slums have contributed in discouraging those who at least have interest in going to school. Indeed, there is need for government to come to the aid of the slum children and rescue their future by giving them equal rights to education and other basic rights that children in the other sides of the cities are enjoying.

More than a million children in Delhi are from poor backgrounds and they don't have access to basic right regardless of the several government programs for improved education. However, with the recent enactment of Right to Education Acts by the India government, it is hoped that all the states will implement the free education programme for every child of school age up to 14 years; and that special attention should also be given to slum children in every city.

Siddhesh is the author of this article on Free education in India.
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