Bangalore:
It has been one year since India adopted the Right to Education Act that makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of six and 14.
While many schools have cited social and financial barriers to not implement the Act, here's the story of a Bangalore school that welcomes children who are likely to be discriminated against in private schools, if they get in, in the first place.
Samhita, an experimental school, tries to integrate children from the educated middle class with those from very different economic and social backgrounds.
Four-year-old Mani is a naughty but bright student who is at ease with his surroundings. Samhita got him started on the kind of education that Mani's parents wouldn't have been able to afford.
"He is from a village (Mani screams: Shankarapura!). His parents are daily-wage earners, they work in the fields. They earn about Rs. 100 per day, on the days they get work," says Aparna Goenka, Faculty, Samhita.
Pavitra, mother of a 7-year-old student at Samhita, adds,"It doesnt matter who your parents are, doesnt matter what background you come from, given the right kind of input and guidance, all children turn out not too different from the other," says Pavitra, mother of 7-year-old student Sham.
The residential-model at Samhita helps kids get exposed to social and language skills. It's rather tough for outsiders to tell these students apart. NDTV spoke with one of the students at the school.
Karthik Shekhar: My mother works in others people's houses, and my father is a mechanic.
NDTV: What do you want to become when you grow up?
Karthik Shekhar: I want to become an artist, and I want to be a basketball player.
So, while sceptics might question as to whether it is actually possible in India to make education inclusive, schools like Samhita shall continue proving them wrong.