School Chale Hum – Bridging The Education Divide
“School Chale Hum!!” Just a phrase is enough to take us back to the early 2000s when its melodious tune made us enjoy a delightful sense of euphoria. That marked the beginning of “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan”, a nationwide program launched by The Government of India to ensure universalization of primary education. It was pioneered by late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which went on to become the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India. It made Free and Compulsory education a fundamental right for each and every child in the age group of 6 to 14. As an outcome, the total enrolment in elementary schools rose from 18.79 crore children in 2009-10 to 19.67 crore in children in 2015-16. The number of Out-of-School children reduced from 1.34 crore in 2005 to 60.64…