India unveils education scheme

The Indian prime minister has launched a programme to extend schooling to about 10 million children who are outside the education system. In a televised speech on Thursday, Manmohan Singh, pledged that financial constraints would not hold up the scheme, which is estimated to cost $38bn over five years. The central government has already reserved $5.6bn for the initiative. The majority of funding will come from India's states, the rest from the federal government and the private sector. The plan is not expected to affect the federal deficit. "The fundamental right to education, as incorporated in our constitution, becomes operative from today. This demonstrates our commitment to the education of our children and to the future of India," Singh said. Unicef, Unesco and the International Labour Organisation have welcomed the act, saying it would help the world achieve the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education.  However, critics say that the scheme might go the same way as other well-meaning pieces of legislation enacted in the liberal democracy, where the gap between legal rights and reality is often huge.