-PTI
"Education gave me a new life…. It is a magic wand that can help us meet any challenge."
This was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s message to students as Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal rang the school bell in this nondescript town in rustic Mewat region, marking the launch of the year-long ‘Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan’ campaign to create awareness about the Right To Education (RTE).
The Prime Minister’s message was read out to children in this and other nearly 13 lakh schools across the country on the occasion of the ‘National Education Day’ in which he recollected his days as a student in his village school at Gah Begal in Chakwal district of Punjab province — now in Pakistan — which had no electricity and pukka roads.
"Education gave me a new life. I went to school in a village that had no electricity. I studied under an earthen oil lamp. I would walk miles to reach my school. I worked as hard as I could and the nation has always rewarded me for my efforts," Singh said.
The Prime Minister appealed to the students to study hard for achieving success in life in his message that was read
Singh touched upon the life of prominent people like the country’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who by their hard work became distinguished personalities in public life.
The RTE Act came into force last year and so far 20 states have notified the rules.
"After one year, we will review how this programme has had an impact on spreading RTE," Sibal said.
Ruing that big states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal have not notified the law as yet, Sibal had earlier said it will be a historic failure if the Act is not implemented across the country.
Delhi too has not notified the Act so far.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was the chief guest at the function here.