New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) With less than 10 days to go for the union budget, children from across the country gathered here Wednesday demanding an increase in allocation for education. The kids also expressed their concerns to President Pratibha Patil in a letter.
The children urged that public spending on education be increased to 6 percent from a dismal 3.37 percent of the GDP. The union budget for the next fiscal will be tabled in parliament Feb 26.

“Every year the government says that education is a priority but the budgetary allocation remains the same. In villages like mine, schools function with just two-three teachers and have no infrastructure. How can we study with conditions like these?” asked Abhishek, who hails from Jharkhand.

The children, who gathered here, protested by writing their demands with chalks on their slates and marching on Parliament Street in the heart of the capital.

Ramakant Rai of the National Coalition for Education said: “So that the Right to Education is properly implemented, it is important that a National Commission for Education is formed on the lines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), so that any issue pertaining to the difficulties in the implementation process can be addressed.”

According to Rai, the children’s memorandum to the president also contended that removing child labour completely is the only way to attain the education goals.

The protest was organised by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights organisation.