"This Ordinance would ensure that children upto 14 years would learn three R's, free of cost," Basic Education Minister Dharam Singh Saini said on Tuesday. He said that directives have been issued to officials asking them to ensure that all primary schools have sufficient number of teachers. Besides, government would provide other paraphernalia including class rooms, black boards and books.

"We have enough funds to kindle the light of knowledge among the lives of villagers," he said. Uttar Pradesh, one of he most backward states of India, has a poor literacy rate. Against the national average of 67 per cent Uttar Pradesh has literacy rate of only 56 per cent. The rural heartland has only 48 per cent literate.

"The face of the society would change within a few years with the implementation of the Right To Education Ordinance. It is a challenge before the government and we are ready to accept it," the minister said. Secretary, Basic Education Anup Chand Pandey said that the State needs over Rs 14,500 crore for imparting primary education to children up to 14 years of age. "Government will do its job but we need support from the society and without its support the mission would not succeed," Pandey said.

The new guidelines suggest that even children working in dhabas, railway stations and bus stops would also be motivated to join schools. "These children would be told that they would get all facilities including food, books and even clothes. This would lure these children to join schools," Pandey said.

According to a rough estimate around 2.5 to 3 crore children below 14 years of age are illiterate and have never been to school.