Implementing the Fundamental Right of the Child to Education: The Case of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Children have always been a vulnerable group in society. Their needs are secondary in the agenda of the policy maker, and even when these needs are taken into consideration; it is usually done as a token gesture. This note explores an example of this apathy by examining the status of child rights with particular focus on education in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. While the essay relies primarily on information gathered from the ground in January – February 2005, the issues discussed here have longer shadows. The rights of the child in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has not been closely examined and the fault lines have never been apparent. The tsunami of 24.12.2004 is not the source of all the problems that children in Andaman and Nicobar Islands face today, but merely added to what already existed