Afterschool on the Political Agenda?

I got a Google Alert this morning pointing to Barack Obama's promise on supporting afterschool programmes. I found the document The Blue Print for Change - Barack Obama's Plan for America and looked at the section on education. It says the plan is to "Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children" and "Expand Summer Learning Opportunities: Obama’s STEP UP plan addresses the achievement gap by supporting summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children through partnerships between local schools and community organizations". (John McCain's site claims he "will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrated excellence, including their own homes" - I did not find a mention of afterschool, though).

Good to see afterschool on the election manifesto. Next stop, the manifesto of the Indian National Congress (why? simblee!). Will I find anything? Let's see...

The INC's 2004 manifesto says "The Congress pledges to raise public spending in education to at least 6% of GDP with at least half of this amount being spent in primary and secondary schools. A cess will he proposed on all central taxes to finance the commitment to universalize access to quality basic education. A National Commission on Education will be set up to allocate resources and monitor programmes for compliance with national priorities". Nothing beyond 'in school' learning.

What about the BJP? Its 2004 manifesto talks of 'Quality Education for All'but the strategy is largely about increasing access to education - except for one point "Improving the standards of education at all levels of the Educational Pyramid from primary to university". Again - nothing beyond the school system.

Why is that our leaders limit themselves to 'education = within the four walls of the school/university'? I wonder if the school system alone can wholly respond to the challenge of preparing children to face the future with confidence. The least our leaders can do is acknowledge the challenge and attempt to face it with a more comprehensive strategy.