BANGALORE: The idea was to be able to create awareness about the realities of education through the medium of photography,” says Thangamma Monnappa, who is working with the volunteer action team of CRY.CRY - Child Rights and You, with the help of its supporters organised a photography exhibition called Click Rights, depicting the poor infrastructure in government and municipal schools . The motive was to sensitise the general population and to ensure the right to equal and quality education for children across India. “We wanted to capture the mindsets of the people and motivate them to participate in the drive, which aims at the implementation of the right to education. Only through large scale public participation can we ensure that the basic right of education reaches the underprivileged children,” she adds.The exhibition is being held simultaneously in five cities and displays citizens’ insights into the challenges faced by thousands of children while accessing their right to education. The people visiting the exhibition have the opportunity to sign a petition at the venue demanding quality education for all children in India. The photographs are taken by volunteers who visited schools and the community around it, interacted with teachers, and talked to the populace as well.Earlier this month, CRY invited citizens and volunteers to click photographs of government/municipal schools in their localities that lacked basic infrastructure, as guaranteed to all children in India by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The organisation received more than 500 photographs from concerned citizens and volunteers. The photographs showed the state of infrastructure in government and municipal schools across the five metro cities — Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.The pictures tell stories of schools lacking cleanliness — many without toilets — and unhygienic conditions in which children are taught. Children cramped in a single classroom with many sitting on the floor is another common sight captured in the photographs, Playgrounds and classrooms as storerooms for construction materials were some other pictures that reflected the poor infrastructure facilities of schools. A picture from Hyderabad even shows garbage dumped right outside the school gate.“The response was not too bad. Having access to education in a standard environment is every child’s right. We still have a long way to go. Inspiring people to be pro-active and put pressure as members of the civil society will definitely bring a major difference,” says Thangamma.A delegation from CRY is slated to meet the education authorities in the state and share photos that are representative of the schools in Bangalore that need improvement. Also, CRY will send a report detailing the condition of the schools to the Prime Minister soon.
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