EDUCATION /

Hopscotch and skipping school

The Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur, Chhatisgarh is the city's largest of nearly 50 slums. Why are the children not in school? Why is a schooling cost of Rs 318 per year per child a tall figure for poor parents? Ashima Sood chronicles the lived experience of poverty from her visits of 2002 and 2003.