Khirendra who hails from the strife-ridden ‘red corridor’ region of Bastar is an eccentric renaissance man. He is sculptor, a painter, a street theater artiste and an ex- football player for his district. He is a long distance runner by passion and claims impressive distances and impressive speeds. He is a dalit. The oppression that he experienced and witnessed while…

Khirendra Yadav

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Dedicated to getting an education, children and teachers at this government primary school in Chhattisgarh sit for classes in a crumbling school building.

The school has been under construction for over 10 years, but the neglectful attitude of government authorities has still kept this building as a work in progress. Our Community Correspondent Khirendra Yadav from Chhattisgarh had given a written application with the village residents to the Collector's office to resume construction but the progress was limited. "They started the work for a few days, but abandoned construction again," says Shatrughan Koram, a parent who had accompanied Khirendra to the Collector's office.

With no other option in sight, the students study in a makeshift hut. The construction doesn't protect these young children from seasonal elements such as rains, summer or winters.

With a non-existent compound wall, stray animals and passers-by disturb the children. The school also doesn't have toilets, which is mandatory under the Right to Education Act; forcing the students to go home to relieve themselves.

The literacy rate of Chhattisgarh stands at 70.28%, which is lower than the national average of 74%. Despite the Right to Education Act of 2009 which makes primary education a free and fundamental right of every child, over 40% of India’s children drop out of school before finishing 8th grade. India is home to the world’s largest population of illiterates with 287 million, 37 percent of the global total.

The residents have tried on several occasions to get the local administrative authorities to build a proper school for their children so that they can access quality education in a safe environment. This International Literacy Day, help these children get their Right to Education.

Call the concerned District Collector Shikha Rajput Tiwari on +91-7786242001 so that young children can continue their education.

Community correspondent Khirendra Yadav reports from Chhattisgarh for Video Volunteers.

This video was made by a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent. Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories. These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ they give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges. See more such videos at www.videovolunteers.org. Take action for a more just global media by sharing their videos and joining in their call for change. we could hyperlink to some VV pages, like our take action page.