Patna, Feb 3 (IANS): The Bihar Education Department has launched a special campaign to ensure that children of labourers aged 6 to 14 years are enrolled in nearby schools and receive education under the Right to Education Act (RTE).

The department has instructed all district authorities to identify children of labourers working at brick kilns, sand ghats, and construction sites and enrol them in nearby schools.

The campaign aims to ensure no child is deprived of education due to poverty with parents for work.

Additional Chief Secretary of Education Department S. Siddharth, In his letter to all District Magistrates (DMs), emphasised that education is a fundamental right and directed officials to connect out-of-school children to formal education.

Siddhartha recently inspected some of the brick kilns and construction sites and noticed that many children drop out of school because they have compulsions to stay with their parents at the workplace.

The students will be enrolled under the Right to Education Act, Section 3(1). This law mandates that every child aged 6-14 must receive free and compulsory education in a nearby school until completing elementary education.

With this initiative, Bihar aims to bridge the education gap for children of marginalised labourers and ensure they have access to quality learning opportunities.

To ensure 100 per cent school enrolment of children from brick kilns and construction sites, the Bihar Education Department has outlined the authorities for the identification and enrolment of children.

Authorities have been asked to identify children aged 6-14 years from labour-intensive workplaces and enrol them in nearby schools without delay.

The directive further said that enrolment can take place at any time during the academic session.

The Education Department also instructed brick kiln owners and construction site employers to ensure their workers’ children are registered in a school and attend classes regularly.

The department has set up special monitoring mechanisms to track attendance and prevent dropouts among these children.

This initiative reinforces the Right to Education (RTE) Act and ensures that poverty and labour migration do not become barriers to a child’s education.