After 63 years of independence the criminal politicians seem to have woken up to the fact that more than half the population in India remains illiterate. However, as usual their remedy is mere political gimmick. They have passed a Right to Education Act which forces private schools to admit poor children from their neighborhood. At the same time they have laid down stupid guidelines which has meant the closure of cheaper private schools which did not have playgrounds but were affordable for the poor. Because of unmet demand schools are extremely lucrative businesses and the elite ones are unhappy at perceived loss of revenue as they will not be able to charge the same fees from poor children. They do have a point when they say that poor children will have difficulty in adjusting and will be under stress. Middle class children do well not only because of the school but because of the support at home which illiterate parents will be unable to provide. Besides children can be cruel. Who will the politicians blame if there are a few suicides? Everyone except themselves, no doubt. The reason politicians are using this cynical ploy is because the government school system is a complete disaster. Teachers are highly paid but semi literate and delinquent. Absenteeism is common and they are used as agents during elections which probably gives them the means to influence voters. Thus politicians do not want to take on their powerful unions. The best solution is to hand over government schools to private trusts who will ensure proper attendance and teaching but the useless government teachers will riot. Hence the regressive act.