Proud moment for us
Truly proud moment for the School Choice Campaign team and everyone else at Centre for Civil Society.
It is sometimes embarrassing to take credit for things, especially when
it is a good deed. But this time I can’t help but feel proud.
His dream comes true, 8-yr-old will go to school from today in the Indian Express, Delhi Section on July 6, 2007.
A simple Rs 300 per month can do this. I spend more on coffee every
month. Imagine what a private and tax payer funded basket of education,
health and life insurance and food vouchers can do for the poor! The
money is there. Governments spend a zillion times more than Rs 300 per
poor person per month.
Soon…. Soon …. God, give me patience till then.
His dream comes true, 8-yr-old will go to school from today
Courtesy
School Choice scheme of Centre for Civil Society, 400 poor kids will
get education vouchers to study in a school of their choice
Under the School
Choice scheme of the Centre for Civil Society, 400 students would be
given education vouchers. Sharik, a resident of Mulla Colony in Gharoli
village of East Delhi, is the first among them to get admission. Due to
ill health of his father Zulfiqar, the family did not have enough money
to send him to school. Sharik, who is the youngest of four brothers,
has a 14-month-old sister also.His mother
Shabnam Khatun is happy. “He (Sharik) always wanted to study but we had
so many loans to pay off that we could not send him to any school. I am
relieved now that he will be going to school finally,” she said.It was Sharik’s
brother Azam who had got the voucher. Azam studies in Class V in a
government school in Kalyanpuri. He wanted to go to Karan Swaroop
Public School himself but the voucher amount of Rs 300 per month did
not cover his tuition fees and other expenses. So, his parents decided
to transfer the voucher in Sharik’s name. “They do not teach English at
my school properly. I am sure my brother will study well,” said Azam.Shabnam wanted to
send Sharik to Gautam Public School but found the “one-time fee” there
too high. “They demanded Rs 1,700 as one-time fee which we could not
afford. I went to Karan Swaroop school then where this fee is Rs 1,000.
I borrowed the amount from some people which I will have to pay off in
a few months,” she said.“Because of
Sharik’s father’s illness, we had to withdraw Azam from the private
school where he was studying earlier. We had to raise so many loans for
his treatment and it was difficult for us to afford good education for
all our children. My husband has got back his job now in a cloth
factory but he is still not allowed to do much physical work. But I am
happy that even though my elder sons are studying in a government
school, at least Sharik has got a good platform to start with,” Shabnam
added.As for Sharik, he
looks forward eagerly to the new life waiting for him in the school.
“When I go to school tomorrow, the teacher will give me new uniform and
new books. I will work very hard,” he said.About the concept
A new concept in the country, ‘School Choice’ gives children right to
choose their school by giving them adequate financial freedom.
Education vouchers have been issued under the programme to students
from economically weaker section so that they can choose their school
and are not forced to study in government schools only. In a pilot
project initiated by the Centre for Civil Society, 400 vouchers worth
Rs 300 each will be distributed in July. Five lakh people in 68 wards
of Delhi were informed about the scheme. Of these 1.5 lakh people who
filled the voucher forms, 408 have been selected — six from each ward —
by a draw of lots.