49% of out of school children are SC/STs, 36% OBCs: Survey

Nearly 50% of the 61 lakh children out of school in the country are from SC/ST families while 36% are OBCs, according to a survey commissioned by the Centre. Six years after coming into force, the Right to Education Act seems to have made little impact on marginal groups, reports Chethan Kumar.

A quarter of the children are Muslims (15.6 lakh), who were also included in the OBC category , while a majority, 77%, are from rural areas. At 29 lakh, girls constitute about 48% of the children out of school.