Both organisations are essentially pressing for the implementation of the 83rd Constitutional Amendment Bill that provides for free and compulsory education for children. SACCS chairperson Kailash Sathyarthi says the passage of the Bill is essential, not just to provide learning opportunities to underprivileged children but also to eradicate child labour.SACCS's ongoing nationwide Shiksha Yatra comprises 94 adults and children.

The first leg of the campaign began in Kerala on January 21 and went on to cover Erode district of Tamil Nadu. The second schedule began from Kolkata on January 31, and the third leg started from Porbundar in Gujarat on February 18. The fourth and final segment of the two-month-long march commenced in Srinagar on March 1.

The yatras will converge in New Delhi on March 21, having covered a total distance of 12,000 km and having moved through 20 states, says Mr Sathyarthi. He claims his endeavour is supported by around 1,000 NGOs, teachers and students' organisations, NCC, NSS, Nehru Yuvak Kendra, and Bharat Scouts and Guides.

Meanwhile, on January 19-20, NAFRE's Maharashtra State Convention took an overview of the status of education in Maharashtra, and focussed upon the new education policies of the state. It took stock of the state government's efforts at universalising education and making it innovative.

As the NAFRE delegates discussed the stand leading political parties had taken on the issue, it became clear that each manifesto favoured education for all. With the intent ostensibly in place, all that is required is the Bill's passage, says Ms Shabana Warne of Bal Hakk Abhiyan, a NAFRE constituent.

She adds that a group of NGOs working for primary education came together under the banner of NAFRE in 1998. The founding members of the NGO included UNICEF, Pratham, Child Relief and You (CRY), Save the Children Fund (SCF), a Canadian organisation, M V Foundation, Bodh, the National Foundation of India (NFI) and the National Law School University of India. By now, though, 2,400 voluntary organisations and individuals have joined hands to co-ordinate their efforts.

Ms Warne says they have requested that children aged 0-18 be included in the provision for free education as against the current provision of 6-14 years.

"We are also asking the authorities to define what they mean by free education. After all, some segments of society cannot even afford uniforms, books or transport. If all this has to be taken care of, then the government should allocate 3.2 per cent of the GDP to education, not the paltry 1.3 per cent that they do at present," she says. The other NGO, SACCS, has also asked the government to increase its budgetary allocation for primary education.

Both organisations are asking for a time-bound programme wherein the promise made in the Constitution will be realised. Mr Sathyarthi supplements his argument saying that India has the dubious distinction of having a record 120 million children out of schools. "No less than 320 million adults are unable to read, of which 62 per cent are women," he says.

He emphasises that the march is the "second freedom struggle to break the chains of illiteracy''. Education is a necessity, not a luxury, he adds.