The year was 2001-02 and a video on then Prime Minister Atal Bihari’s Vajpayee flagship national scheme ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ was shot in scenic locations showing happy students going to school through different terrain, some even taking a ride on bullock cart or camel. It was aired on Doordarshan.

The video opened with Vajpayee holding the hands of two students in uniform and couple of meaningful lines, which essentially urged children to go to school, ‘ aao school chale hum.’

The video ended with the late President Abdul Kalam asking children to repeat after him the following words, “I go to school to learn, Learning gives creativity, Creativity teaches to think, thinking provides knowledge, Knowledge makes me great.”

The appearance of both the Prime Minister and the President had given a fillip to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, as state governments and schools joined hands to make the dream project successful.

The ambitious scheme offered free education to children in the age group of 6-14 years. A constitutional amendment was also made in 2002 to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years as a fundamental right. The states had to play an active role.

In 2009, the focus continued on education as the Congress government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh introduced the ‘Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) law envisaging that every child had a........

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