Dignitaries (right to left Ms Mahima Chowdhary, Bollywood Actress, Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, President, GCE, Ms. Tanuja Chandra, Film Director, Mr. Jasbeer Jassi, Singer, Ms Sandhya Venkateshwaran, Director, Care India, Master Amarlal, Ex-Child Labour, Sonia, Child Paricipant, Mr. Ramakat Rai, National Convenor, NCE) at World's Biggest Lesson in FICCI Auditorium on 23rd April 2008

23 April 2008, New Delhi: Hundreds of former child laborers and school children participated in the world's biggest lesson on education. Children themselves imparted a lesson to the noted Bollywood personalities Actress Mahima Chaudhry, Producer Tanuja Chandra, Jasbeer Jassi, the singer and Amit Shyal; Members of Parliament and social activists here today at the FICCI auditorium as part of the Global Action Week led by the President of Global Campaign for Education a worldwide movement demanding universal basic full time quality education for all. The Action Week in India is being jointly organised by National Coalition for Education (NCE), Bachpan Bachao Andolan
(BBA), Global March Against Child Labor (GMACL), CARE, OXFAM, World Vision
and Save the Children Fund.

Children led a slate pencil march to the Parliament carrying empty slates in their tiny hands questioning the law makers and the government as to why more than 1/3 rd of India 's population was illiterate. At least 60-70 million children are still out of school. The child laborers constitute the largest group of children excluded from education in the country. The children demanded that right to education must be immediately enacted to
ensure slates, pencils and books in the hands of children instead of work tools.

“India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Yet, it accounts for 34% of world's illiterate population. Right to Education has been enshrined since 2001 but it is neither supported by any law nor is it substantiated with adequate budget. Though India does well in school enrollment rate with primary school enrollment of 82%, the drop-out rate is also very high at 39.8%. Quality of education is low. School fee is still charged in many states. A lot of money is also spent in the non-tuition fee like uniform, syllabus, books, building cost etc.” alleged the protestors.

President of Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Kailash Satyarthi said-“Today at least 6 million children across 110 countries are going to set a world record of the world's largest lesson on any issue in the history. This would definitely be added to the Guinness Book of World Records under the slogan – Quality education to end exclusion.”

Children from BBA and its partners, Amarlal and Sonia, imparted the world's biggest lesson to the other children and the celebrities at the FICCI Auditorium. The children also enacted a play- “ladki padhke kya karegi?” (Why should a girl be educated?”), depicting the need for girls' education.

Bollywood star Mahima Chaudhry said- “I think nobody should ignore the voice of these children. If their voice goes unheard, I am willing to be their voice. Education should be not just a fundamental right but should be made into a law.”

The children sang along with Jassi to his popular tunes. Notel film Producer Tanuja Chandra said “Education is our right that can possibly ease problems especially in India . Children are the most precious gifts and their education should be country's obsession.”

R.C. Dabas of the AIPTF said – Teacher's unions play an important role in education for all. Our main focus has always been quality education and we will make concerted efforts to ensure this to all children so that all children can earn an education that equips them to get proper employment.”

The Indian chapter of GCE, National Coalition for Education (NCE) is a conglomeration of Parliamentary Forum on education, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), All India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) and All India Federation of Teacher's Organisations (AIFTO) Deepalya.

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Shakira Rocks The Hill Asking US Lawmakers Enhance Aid To Education

Shakira the popular singer now in the new avatar of Honorary Chair of the Global Campaign for Education was in the Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) asking the US lawmakers to enhance the flow of predictable aid towards the Education for All by 2015. Shakira said that I am speaking from experience of my native country Colombia where children have to work and beg for getting food.

She said that no child would ever want to work if they have the opportunity to attend full time school. For the children from the poor families the only incentive to attend full time schools is to be provided with meals in the school. She gave the personal example of the five schools she is running through her Bare Foot Foundation which is providing 5000 children in native Colombia with food and not a single child is ever absent.

Shakira said that the only way to break the cycle of poverty is to provide good quality education to the children of the world.

Speaking on the occasion Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) said that even in this times of recession US economy can meet the additional cost of providing all children in the US and the world good quality full time education. She said that providing education is an essential pillar of our foreign policy today as it is directly linked to peace and security imperative.

Gene Sperling, Chair, Campaign for Education, USA said that it is worth contemplating that the US share in the funding on education is one fifth of the share of UK as they invest about close to one and a half billion annually. US should take the leadership by enhancing the aid to global education compact

Link to the slide show of Shakira at GAW 2008

http://picasaweb.google.com /sudhanshu.joshi/GAW2008