It is easier to enact laws about rights than to implement them. That the Right to Education Act has not ensured free and universal education for all six to 14-year-old children was borne out by the figures presented in the Lok Sabha. For the first eight months of 2024-25, 1.17 million children were counted as out-of-school. In spite of schemes and policies, out-of-school children have remained an intransigent issue in India’s education system. Since vast numbers are being assessed and often that of a moving population, it is possible that some more children are slipping through the cracks. This year Uttar Pradesh has the most out-of-school children — a staggering 784,228. Jharkhand and Assam are next, with over 60,000 children each. These figures are alarming for the children who are out of school. They suffer not just from a loss in learning, but also from poorer earning skills. This would perpetuate the cycle of poverty and lack of social power.

A National Sample Survey report showed that in 2017-18 12.4% children were out of school. In spite of accounts of girls doing well, more girls dropped out than boys, more underprivileged or backward classes children than children from upper-caste and well-off families and more in villages than in cities. While girls from tribal families are the worst off anywhere, more girls in the north and west drop out than in the south. Children from poor families often leave in order to earn or to help in the house. Domestic work, agriculture and manufacturing are the most popular spheres for this. Girls can be married off, or kept at home because schools are too far away or lack proper sanitation facilities. But a large section drops out because of lack of interest or the hostility faced because of their poverty or backwardness. This last should be tackled by sensitive handling and engaged teaching. Infrastructure suitable for girls and safe travel can also be arranged. It is possible to make parents aware of the importance of foundational learning to prevent children from working. Clearly, laws such as those against child labour or minor marriage or on the right to education are not sufficient to stop children — or their parents — from giving up on school. The approach must change; solutions must fit the problems.