At times it's difficult to believe that in a country where the phrase 'Laws are made to be broken' is followed in both letter and spirit; where laws and regulations prove to be nothing more than compilations lying in shelves and gathering dust; a handful of children from a ‘low profile’ government school of the national capital can force authorities to induce changes in the 'System', the system which has been crumbling under its own weight over the last six decades. Fifty odd school goers of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, located in West Vinod Nagar have made it possible by using the most potent tool the citizens of the country possess in their armoury to protect their rights in a democratic manner – Right to Information Act (RTI).

Not long ago, the Vinod Nagar School, which has now become a symbol of change, was like any other government school lacking in even the basic requirements like, drinking water and toilets for students. "There was no fan in the class-rooms. Forget about fans, students did not have access even to drinking water and toilets in the school. They contacted me in July as we used to work in the area on different projects. We suggested them to file a formal application and they filed a complaint in the office of deputy director of education," said Amita Joshi, chairperson, Institute of Social Studies Trust, the NGO that has been instrumental in helping the school children in moving ahead in their endeavour.

Initially the authorities were reluctant and hesitant to give proper information about these facilities. When parents raised such concerns during the parent-teacher meet, they were never welcomed by the school administration, and were shunted down with a hush-hush attitude. When few students dared to question the Principal over the non-availability of fans in classrooms, he clarified that fans had been stolen. But if nobody else at least the students knew it quite well that they were never provided with that luxury because they had witnessed the exercise of the school authorities putting hired fans in place during administrative inspection, and removing it later on.

Keeping up the spirit children did not give-up. They were determined enough to bring the desired changes and get their due. As their next step-a group of fifty students collectively filed a proper RTI application seeking information about status of fans, desk, sanitation and drinking water in the school. The wind of change blew across the school within a week, and it was surprising even for the students. Kharunisha, a class 11th student of the school says: "Within a week of filling the RTI application, four fans were placed in each classroom and a water-tank was installed. Work on sanitation facility also started soon." But, the most effective change the RTI application brought was, the principal of the boy’s section, which runs in the second half, was transferred.

Despite of the fact that the RTI application has fostered change, much is to be accomplished still, echoes Hitesh Singh Thakur, a class 10th students when he says "Water is not clean and thus undrinkable. Desks are also less in numbers. But the most important thing during this change is that we have witnessed the influence of RTI. Now we will continue our fight and hope that something concrete would happen for the students in the times to come."

In a country where many people are not even aware of their rights, these school children have set an example of how even the weakest and most vulnerable section of the society can empower themselves. "We have to empower them- children, poor, women. That’s why we encouraged these children to take steps in certain manner and lead their fight on their own. Though, we supported and guided them in dealing with documental and official procedures, it was ultimately their success. Almost every student of the school is now aware of the power and impact of RTI as well as their rights," Amita observed.

Hitesh echoes the observation of Amita when he says, "All of us now know what the RTI is. We discuss about RTI and facilities in the school very often, as many problems are yet to be solved."

The matter of fact is that the awareness regarding ‘Right to Information’, which has been bestowed on every citizen of the country by the Constitution, still has to travel a long way before it becomes a revolution in a country with billion plus population. Therefore, the tiny steps, which these students have taken in that direction, hold much more relevance when we try to perceive the issue on a bigger canvas.

For more news, information updates, and articles from India log on to www.headlinesindia.com