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On 29 January 2007 the Centre for Civil Society launched its School Choice Campaign. Our nation has given each child the right to education; we must now make it meaningful by taking it a step further: The Right to education of Choice! Each child and her parent must be empowered so they can truthfully say: My Right, My Choice!

This is also your opportunity to join the education revolution.

Can poor women (urban, rural or tribal), armed with funds—corporate, bank or micro-finance—own the school where their children study? Can we attract entrepreneurs of the calibre like Narayana Murthy to open 200, may be 2000, schools and replicate the IT revolution in education? Can venture capital—for profit or philanthropic—help improve the infrastructure and quality of existing budget private schools around slums and in villages? Can good teachers of government schools be given an opportunity to manage schools and improve the quality and reach millions?

We feel the answer to these exciting questions is a resounding YES! It is time to think bold, outside the box of the current education system.

School choice, particularly for the poor, can be achieved through education vouchers, cash transfers (like in Bangladesh), or tuition fee reimbursement schemes (like in Delhi), basically by schemes where funds follow students and not schools. Let the child's parent choose the school. It can be enhanced through broader measures like deregulation and delicensing of private schools, legalizing for-profit schools, and microfinance and venture capital for budget private schools. (Today it is virtually impossible to start a legally recognised school. Also, since many of the schools for the poor are unrecognised, they cannot get a bank loan to improve their infrastructure like any other enterprise).

School choice can be taken to government schools through decentralization of decision making and transfer of accountability to local governments, by tying state grants to enrolment and learning achievements, through management contracts, and charter schools. The funding for education in general can be increased by tuition tax credits to individuals and corporate scholarship tax credit programs.

The response to the campaign so far has been overwhelming and the biggest support is from dalit and tribal activists. We will be giving away vouchers as demonstration to the ideas. School Choice Campaign is a national campaign. It is gaining ground in Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

We have partnered with local coordinators and NGOs who are helping us with the campaign. We are also reaching out to elected representatives, officials and other influential people across the nation.

Interestingly, many entrepreneurs, government officials and politicians see the power of these ideas too. Most people realise that the aspirations of the poor are no different from us and they too want their children to attend English medium private schools which will lift them out of their present poverty and give them a decent future. Also, the moment the poor become a bit less poor, they escape the system of government schools.

The concept of School Choice has won the support of corporate and political leaders. Civil society organizations like Deepalaya and Pratham also have voiced their support for School Choice.

School Choice has immense potential to save future generations from languishing in the darkness of illiteracy. School Choice has already changed the face of education in many countries worldwide.

We firmly believe that this could possibly be the beginning of a revolution in changing the face of education in our country and enable millions to escape the clutches of poverty.

We would be grateful for your support and contribution in making this a reality.

Send your cheque drawn in favor of : Centre for Civil Society