While the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 (RTE), seeks to provide free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 years, RTE or any such thing is unheard of in certain tribal pockets in Maharashtra.
In India nearly 16.28 lakh children, including over 48,000 children from Maharashtra, continue to be out of school. The workers are largely landless Adivasi tribals who are forced to work at the brick kilns and other sites, for half the year to pay off their debt. Entire familys may work up to 14 hours a day for low or no wages, few amenities, no days off, and with no idea of how much money they still owe.
Near Mumbai, out of school students are found at Kalyan and adjoining areas where migrant labourers work in brick kilns. With their parents toiling hard as daily wage labourers in brick manufacturing factories, these children never have a normal childhood. They are carried along to....
