Appeal to citizens

एकेक मूल मोलाचे...

एकेक मूल मोलाचे
भविष्य घडवील राष्ट्राचे
शोधून शोधून काढा
शाळेत त्याला धाडा

घरी दारी रस्त्यावरी
कुठेही मूल दिसले तरी
शाळेत जाते का ते विचारा
नसल्यास आम्हाला फोन करा

सगळे मिळून सगळीच्या सगळी मुले शाळेत घालूया
पहिला नंबर मिळवूया

- रजनी परांजपे

Together, We Can!

Constitutional provisions alone cannot guarantee achievement of the purpose. No doubt they are necessary and strong ingredient of development process in a democratic nation like ours. However, the ultimate goal can be reached only through successful implementation of ideas. And this demands for active participation of every citizen. Here, we are talking about a fundamental need of every child around us - education. Yes, everybody knows that our constitution has provided every child with right to get education. We are happy about the vision, we are not at all suspicious about the motive. But we are concerned about the implementation. The application of Right To Education (RTE).

There are marginalised sections of society, unaware and deprived of benefits of education. They call it their fate, we call it our failure. If a certain part of the society is trailing on development, how can we dream of all-inclusive growth? It is unfortunate to see our society, after so many years of complete freedom, struggling for basic needs, including education. And we refuse to blame the Government, until we have done our bit.

We, the other part of this paralysed society, the 'responsible' citizens, thought about delivering fruits of education to those who really need them. No, we cannot teach. Not every one of us. That's not even required. There are (have to be) enough number of government schools in Pune, to admit all children in the city. For some reasons, the classrooms are vacant and streets are full of education-deprived children of all ages. We thought, let's start with bridging this gap. Let's ensure every child reaches school. We, a group of people interested in child education, came together, discussed, and figured out how to do this. Under the guidance of veterans in the field of education, and with the enthusiasm of young and willing activists from Pune, the 'Every Child Counts' team is ready with a primary plan, waiting for thousands of hands joining the cause.

We believe that every child counts. And we are trying to sow this feeling in every citizen's mind. Yes, this has to be a citizens' campaign. It's not always the parents who do not admit their children in school. It's not always the government that fails to deliver free and compulsory education to every child. It's sometimes us, the citizens who are enjoying fruits of education, but not passing them on to every child. Let's make this happen now. Let's all join hands to ensure that every child gets its right of education.

The goal is simple. By June-2012, let's ensure that every child of 6-7 years age is admitted to neighbourhood school. We still have six months in our hands. Let's find out every out-of-school child and send it to school. The volume may be too high, but we are sure, if every citizen contributes, the goal can be achieved. There are numerous activities for every citizen to contribute in. The campaign needs IT support, government support, legal support, financial support, media support, and support in many more areas.

Let's do this for once. Let's kick-start the progress-express for next generation.

To join Every Child Counts campaign,
please write to everychildcounts.pune@gmail.com or
call Rajani Paranjpe at 9371007844 or
call Mandar Shinde at 9822401246.

For more details,
visit http://everychildcounts-pune.blogspot.com or
join us at http://on.fb.me/eccpune or
follow us on http://twitter.com/eccpune

Together we can. And we will!

एक-एक मूल मोलाचं!

प्रत्येक मुलाला शिक्षणाचा अधिकार आहे, असं सगळे शिक्षणतज्ञ म्हणतात आणि शिक्षणाचा अधिकार हा कायदा देखील तेच म्हणतो. पण प्रत्येक मुलाला शिक्षण कसं मिळेल किंवा प्रत्येक मुलापर्यंत शिक्षणाची गंगा कशी पोचेल, असा प्रश्न उभा राहतो. मुलांची शाळेशी गाठ कशी पडायची? त्यांच्या आई-वडिलांनी अथवा पालकांनी ती पाडायची का? याचं उत्तर खरं तर 'हो' असंच आहे. पण ही वस्तुस्थिती आहे का? किती पालकांना शिक्षणाच्या अधिकारासंबंधी माहिती किंवा जाण आहे? आणि किती पालकांना शिक्षणाचं महत्त्व वाटतं? ज्या मुलांच्या आई-वडिलांना शाळा कुठं आहे हेच माहित नाही त्यांचं काय? त्यामुळं किंवा अशा कारणांमुळं जी शाळेपर्यंत पोचू शकत नाहीत त्या मुलांचं काय?

असे अनेक प्रश्न! यांची उत्तरं कोणाकडं आहेत?

आपल्याकडं आहेत याची उत्तरं! आपण या लोकशाहीच्या मार्गानं जाणार्‍या देशाचे नागरिक, तसंच या सुसंस्कृत समाजाचे घटक या नात्यानं आपणा प्रत्येक सामान्य नागरिकाकडं या प्रश्नाचं उत्तर आहे. आपण या प्रश्नावर विचार करून कृती करून दाखवू.

आपण काय करु शकतो?

सुजाण आणि जबाबदार नागरिक म्हणून प्रत्येकानं या मोहिमेत – अभियानात सहभागी व्हायचं आहे. कारण, एक-एक मूल मोलाचं आहे. शाळेत जाण्यायोग्य, म्हणजे सहा वर्षांच्या प्रत्येक मुलाला आपण तिथपर्यंत पोचवू असा 'पण' करायचा आहे. सहा वर्षांचं प्रत्येक मूल सरकारी शाळेत प्रवेश घेऊ शकतं. भले ते झोपडपट्टीत राहत असो वा सोसायटीत, फुटपाथवर असो वा पुलाच्या कमानीखाली, बंगल्यात राहणारं असो वा झोपडीतलं, अनाथ अथवा सनाथ, जनगणनेत मोजलेलं असो अथवा नसो! एक-एक मूल मोलाचं आहे!

हे अभियान फार धाडसाचं वाटतं का?

हो तर! हा नक्कीच धाडसी विचार आहे. पण तो आपल्याला प्रत्यक्षात आणता येईल. जर आपण एकदिलानं हे एकच उद्दिष्ट डोळ्यासमोर ठेऊन काम केलं तर काहीच कठीण नाही. आपल्याला प्रत्येक मूल, जे शाळेत जायला हवं ते तिथपर्यंत पोचवायचं आहे.

पुण्यातल्या सर्व मुलांना प्रवेश मिळण्यासाठी अर्थात पुरेशा सरकारी शाळा आहेत किंवा असायला हव्यात. जून-२०१२ पर्यंत जी मुलं सहा वर्षांची होतील ती जवळच्या शाळेत जायला हवीत. ती जात आहेत की नाही, हे आपल्याला बघायचं आहे.

प्रवेशाची प्रक्रिया तशी साधी आहे; पण त्याचा आवाका फार मोठा आहे. म्हणून तो एका संस्थेला किंवा एखाद्या गटाला पेलता येणार नाही. यासाठी नागरिकांचा जास्तीत जास्त सहभाग असायला हवा. हे नागरिकांचं अभियान असणं जरुरी आहे. प्रत्येक जण यात सहभागी होऊन काम करू शकतो आणि हे अभियान यशस्वी करू शकतो. हे आवाहन सर्वांना उद्देशून आहेः तुम्ही इंजिनियर असा वा डॉक्टर, शिक्षक असा वा स्वयं-रोजगारी, वकील असा वा कष्टकरी, वार्ताहार, गृहिणी अथवा विद्यार्थी, ज्याला कुणाला यात भाग घ्यायचा आहे आणि ज्यांना असं वाटतं की एक-एक मूल मोलाचं आहे, त्या सर्वांची ही चळवळ आहे.

चला, आपल्या मुलांना एका उज्ज्वल भविष्याकडं नेऊया आणि आपल्या देशाचा माथा उजळ करु या!

या मोहिमेत सहभागी होण्यासाठी लिहा everychildcounts.pune@gmail.com वर किंवा
कॉल करा रजनी परांजपे यांना 9371007844 वर किंवा
कॉल करा मंदार शिंदे यांना 9822401246 वर.

अधिक माहितीसाठी,
पहा http://everychildcounts-pune.blogspot.com किंवा
जॉइन व्हा http://on.fb.me/eccpune वर किंवा
फॉलो करा http://twitter.com/eccpune ला.

Every Child Counts

Every child has the right to get education. That’s what educationalists say, that’s what Right To Education (RTE) says. But how will every child get education? Rather, how will education reach to every child? Who will connect children with schools? Their parents? Ideally, yes! But how practical is that? How many parents are aware of RTE? How many parents are aware of even importance of education itself? What happens to children who do not reach schools? What happens to children whose parents do not know where school is?

So many questions! Who has the answers?

We! Yes, we, as citizens of this democratic nation, as responsible part of this cultured society, as a common man (and woman), have answers to these questions. Only if we want to explore and act upon them!

What can we do?

We, as concerned and responsible citizens, can become a part of this campaign to take every child to school. Every child counts. Every child of six years age, eligible to get admitted in a government school. Every child across Pune city, living in slums, societies, footpaths, orphanages, houses, and bungalows. Every child whose parents are educated or not, willing or not, living or dead. Every child who is included in the census or not. Every child counts!

Does that look too ambitious to work?

Yes, it is an ambitious plan! But it can work. If we all join hands, if we all decide upon one common goal - to take every eligible child to school.

There are (have to be) enough number of government schools in Pune to admit all children in the city. What we have to do is, identify every child that needs to be in school by June-2012 and see to it that the child is admitted in neighbourhood school. The admission procedure is simple, but the volume is too high to be handled by a small group or organisation. That’s why this has to be a Citizen’s Movement. Any citizen can join, contribute, and lead this campaign to success. We need teachers, educators, managers, software professionals, counsellors, students, legal experts, activists, media persons, or anybody who realises and believes that Every Child Counts!

Come, let us join hands and work towards an educated, brighter future of ours!

To contribute to the cause,

please write to everychildcounts.pune@gmail.com or
call Rajani Paranjpe at 9371007844 or
call Mandar Shinde at 9822401246.

For more details,
visit http://everychildcounts-pune.blogspot.com or
join us at http://on.fb.me/eccpune or
follow us on http://twitter.com/eccpune