The rate of secondary school drop-outs at West Garohills in Meghalaya, remains high.

 Through her video today, Aleya investigates the high-school drop out phenomenon in her village schools, set against the backdrop of the 2009 Right to Education Act which provides free and compulsory education for children from 6 to 14 years. She tells the story of Usmaan, a 14-year-old boy who dropped out after Class 7 because his parents could not afford to pay his secondary school fees.

On the one hand, the RTE Act, which was put into effect in April of this year has made giant steps towards enabling some of the eight million children who don’t attend to begin going to school. But after Class 7, secondary schools start emptying out as parents either do not have money or do not prioritise education for their children. Aleya tells us that the boys start taking up manual labour jobs which earn them about Rs. 100 a day, and the girls either get married or start stitching classes.