The children who addressed a high-profile audience including district officials, MLAs, MPs, and state ministers were representatives of around 200 bal panchayats, or children’s forums, set up by SEDT in Parbhani district with support from the PACS Programme.

The bal panchayats have worked to improve the quality of education, in coordination with village education committees, and have had great success in mainstreaming dropouts -- something the government machinery has so far failed to do. They have also helped implement the ‘sundar shala’ (beautiful school) concept, whereby school surroundings and the learning atmosphere have been transformed. To read more about the bal panchayats, click here.

The Mumbai convention was held in recognition of their success. A total of 270 children from various bal panchayats in Parbhani were brought to Mumbai for the occasion.

The guests of honour included Rajya Sabha member Supriya Sule, Maharashtra’s education minister Vasant Purake, and Mahesh Phad, head of the Parbhani zilla parishad, who has played a very supportive role. Also on the dais were PACS Programme director Kiran Sharma and Poonam Mehta, the programme’s manager for Maharashtra.

Among the invitees were the pupils of two elite Mumbai schools, Campion and Christ Church, who were encouraged to interact with the rural children and share experiences.

In a gesture that acknowledged the might of the children’s voices, Harshvardhan Patil, Maharashtra’s minister for women and child development, sent word that although he was busy at a function outside Mumbai he wished to meet the children later in the day. He arrived at 5 pm and spent about an hour with them.

In a brief introduction, Suryakant Kulkarni from SEDT explained how the concept of bal panchayats had evolved. While it was Bunker Roy who first thought of children’s parliaments to monitor schools in Tilonia, SEDT modified the concept to become a community participation model and tried it out in Gangakhed block.

Children were organised into groups to help the efforts of village education committees. Self-help group members were also told it was their responsibility to ensure that children went to school. People were urged to ensure the success of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the government’s scheme for universal education.

Thereafter, in coordination with various community groups, bal panchayats have taken up activities ranging from tree plantation drives to spreading messages on health and hygiene and issues of gender discrimination.

After Suryakant Kulkarni’s introduction, a number of children from various bal panchayats in different villages came on stage and, with a great deal of ease and confidence, enumerated their activities. Some articulated their vision for development and posed a number of questions to those on the dais.

Sunita Shinde wondered why society still tolerated child labour. Of what faida (use) was kaida (the law), she demanded in an emotionally charged voice. She appealed to the people of Mumbai to lead a campaign to abolish child labour through protests, roadblocks and rallies.

Digambar Suryavanshi exhorted the audience not to even drink water at a restaurant or eatery that employed child labourers.

Little Manisha Madhurao Kulkarni pointed out how children had their own special needs. There were many smiles as she enumerated the dos and don’ts that they have to listen to throughout the day. “Sit still and don’t talk, they tell us… But can you sit without saying a word for an hour,” she asked the guests.

Bal panchayat members explained the strategies they employed to bring dropouts back to school, and the arguments they used to emphasise why education is the paramount need even for poor families. They elaborated on their role in health and hygiene matters. For example, during the 2006 chikanguniya epidemic, the children went around ensuring that pots containing water were upturned so that no water remained stagnant.

In her address, Supriya Sule said she was very impressed with the children’s confidence. She said they had provided much food for thought. Not only must mapping be undertaken to see if all children were going to school, but monitoring would also be necessary to ensure that the children were getting the required levels of education, she said.

She endorsed SEDT’s concept of bal panchayats as a medium for social development. She gave an assurance that the Right to Education Bill would be introduced in the current session of Parliament.

Minister Vasant Purake too said he had been impressed by the children’s holistic vision and pointed out how creativity and imagination were far superior to any functioning of the computer. He stressed on education being the keystone for development, and said that the government was fully committed to ensuring that all children received quality schooling.

He wanted the concept of bal panchayats to be implemented throughout Maharashtra and said he would urge the Centre to adopt it as well.

After lunch, MLA Ushatai Galade, development consultant Shirish Kulkarni and SNDT professor Prerna Sharma were among those who addressed the children.

As the participants had to wait an hour for Harshvardhan Patil to arrive at the venue, Kulkarni announced that the children and other members of the delegation would visit Mumbai’s Marine Drive.

For many children it was their first sight of the sea and the tall skyscrapers of Nariman Point. They posed excitedly for group photographs before going back to the auditorium.

When the minister arrived he was welcomed by Suryakant Kulkarni who briefly explained the role of the PACS Programme and SEDT’s efforts, its advocacy work and its field experiences in Parbhani district.

He explained how he had set up a home for destitute children in Palam block, Parbhani, and thereafter a number of issues had emerged. After intense dialogue with the people, and reflection, SEDT embarked on its people’s movement linking various groups to work for the betterment of schools.

Three children, Hemant Suryavanshi, Yusuf Pathan and Mukta Ingle, came up on stage and briefed the minister. Hemant Suryavanshi cleverly wove in various social issues when he said that schools lacked books and education materials. He pointed out how there was little incentive for a child to go to school if the surroundings were filthy.

Yusuf Pathan recounted the story of a dropout from a poor home who was mainstreamed -- adding that it was his own life story.

Mukta Ingle displayed a child’s persuasive charms as she narrated the efforts to mainstream child labourers. “We tell parents that your child as a labourer can bring home around Rs 25 per day, but with education he can rule the world.” She said their bal panchayat had succeeded in mainstreaming eight children.

In her address, Kiran Sharma explained how the PACS Programme works to empower people in inaccessible regions, where parameters of development are very low, so that they can seek their entitlements on their own, in a democratic manner. Some of the PACS Programme’s largest projects on child rights were in Maharashtra, and Sharma said she was glad the state government had been supportive of its efforts.

In his speech, Harshvardhan Patil praised the PACS Programme for raising awareness and focusing on women and children who form two-thirds of India’s population. He said he had been most impressed by the manner in which children who had never left their village homes spoke confidently in Mumbai. According to him, even a child with a convent-school education would not have articulated the concept of child rights so effectively. He seconded the education minister’s proposal for promoting bal panchayats throughout the state, including in tribal and urban slum areas.

The minister announced a token gift for the three children who had spoken earlier and said he would be happy to visit the SEDT campus at Kerwadi. Child rights committees, he announced, would soon be set up across the state.