It's ten in the morning but Slumdog Millionaire child star Mohammed Azharuddin still wants to sleep. In the slum nearby his co-star Rubina is busy grooming.

Yes, it's a Sunday and there's no school today but the trouble is both these children have skipped school for the last two months.

When asked Mohammed Azharrudin defends, "My father died and I had to go through the rituals so I couldn't attend.

Even Rubina Qureishi has her own reason for not attending school as she says, "I had hurt my foot with a glass shard and got burnt with cracker. So I was not going to school.

This has reached Slumdog director Danny Boyle. After the film's success Boyle had set up Jai Ho Trust to help the slum children who featured in his Oscar-winner. Both stars get 120 dollars per month as educational allowance.

Besides which they will also get a substantial amount kept in a fixed account in their name when they graduate.

On Danny Boyle's instructions the Jai Ho trust has said that both Azharuddin and Rubina will not get any money if they do not go to school, a move many child rights activists have welcomed.

But is that what their parents see as a priority? Says Rafiq Qureshi, Rubina's father, "I am her father. I know what is best for Rubina. They called us and said they will stop helping us. I told them God will take care of us."

Rubina and Azharuddin's Danny uncle may have catapulted them into the spotlight but if they don't focus on getting the three Rs right then it may mean saying bye bye to the big M.