'Awaaz Do': Speak up to help educate poor children

At a time when Right to Education (RTE) Act is stuck midway due to controversies surrounding it, an online campaign Awaaz Do meaning ‘Speak Up’, is garnering lot of support from literate Indians.

The campaign started by Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund) three months ago, has now got a support base of more than 2 lakh people across the country.

The idea behind the campaign is to help more than eight million children in the country, who are currently out of school and to provide them formal education. Officials of Unicef feel that it is high time citizens participated in initiatives to help poor children get education.

“Awaaz Do is an online campaign to create awareness about the RTE Act. The landmark passing of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, (as the RTE Act is also known as) marks a historic moment for the children of India,” said Unicef India representative, Karin Hulshof.

“By making use of social networking, the campaign aims to empower citizens to get actively involved and demand the right for children, who are excluded and marginalised,” said Hulshof.

Bollywood actress and Unicef celebrity ambassador, Priyanka Chopra and Union minister for human resource development Kapil Sibal, have also signed up as Awaaz Do champions. Also, many corporates have tied-up with Unicef.

“Unicef is working with the Government of India to outline a roadmap for implementing RTE Act at the national and state levels. However, the success of this Act is also largely dependent on collective action,” said Urmila Sarkar, Unicef’s chief of education.

“The Awaaz Do campaign is a platform for the combined voices of the government, the corporate world, media and individuals to become an undeniable force to ensuring every child is in school,” Sarkar said. At present, only few states have implemented the RTE Act.  Karnataka is yet to implement it.

“I am surprised as to why the Karnataka government is taking long to implement the RTE Act. It seems the government is not serious about education of poor children. If the RTE Act is not implemented now, then when is the government going to do so?” asked Sadiya Ahmed, a college student. Prabhu P, another college student said that primary education is a fundamental right of every citizen in India, according to Article 21 (A) of the Indian Constitution.

“In India, millions of children are out of school. Who will guarantee their education? Is it not the responsibility of the state to ensure that no child remains out of school?” asked Prabhu.

The campaign is supported by the Government of India and those who want to be part of it can log onto www.awaazdo.in.