The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : YSR's call to ensure total enrolment in schools

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

YSR's call to ensure total enrolment in schools

Special Correspondent

`Education of girls will check social evils'

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has exhorted elected representatives of local bodies to identify children out of school in their respective areas and ensure their enrolment into schools.

The Chief Minister wanted non-Governmental organisations to play a key role in bringing child labour and those out of school back to school. Dr. Reddy was participating in a meeting organised in connection with `Badi baata' and World Day Against Child Labour on Monday. Stating that financial constraints forced poor families to send children to work, he said the children who grow up as labour sent their wards to work instead of school. "We should not allow this to turn into a vicious circle," he said.

Lagging behind

The State was already lagging behind the other southern States in terms of literacy levels and enrolment of children into schools and ensuring their retention up to at least 10th standard was the only way to remedy this. Moreover, the retention of children, particularly the girl child, would help check social evils such as early marriages besides facilitating their financial independence.

School Education Minister N. Rajyalakshmi responding to a request by Information Minister Mohd. Ali Shabbir she said she would positively consider relaxation of guidelines issued recently to close schools that were functioning without recognition from authorities concerned.

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