How NGOs are Working for Education to Make India Educated and Developed

Many of us consider our school and college days as the best times of our lives. We were fortunate enough to have received encouragement and support from our parents and families so that we were able to complete the education of our choice.

Unfortunately, not all children and youth in our country have access to enough resources to pursue their education fully. Recognizing this need, many organizations including NGOs have come forward to provide funds to support the education of underprivileged children and youth.

The work of NGOs for education is highly commendable. Various philanthropic organizations, foundations, and corporate entities are also playing a role in furthering education among economically backward students.

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X.

How true is this!

Education can be viewed as both a means and an end. Education is a means because it provides an individual with the capability to earn a good livelihood and deal with unemployment. It is an end as it broadens the awareness and consciousness of an individual. He becomes knowledgeable about his rights and duties as a citizen and how to make the best of opportunities to be an asset to his family and the society.

In India, there are many government schemes and policies to promote education. The Right to free Education guarantees children between ages of 6 to 14 free education. Many other incentives like midday meal, reservations, free books are given to increase enrolment and retaining of the underprivileged children in schools There are a number of schemes to promote higher education and skill development among youth also.

While all these look good on paper, the results from the schemes are far from encouraging.  According to the data from National Family Health Survey-3, in 2014 only 75% of the children in the age group of 6 to 16 years were attending school. 11% of children dropped out of school, and around 14% never went to school.

This was attributed to a number of reasons like illiterate parents, lack of awareness, social discrimination, lack of funds, and so on.

Problems Due to Lack of Education

Lack of education can lead to various problems like:

·         Exploitation

·         Unawareness of child right

·         Unemployment

·         Poverty

·         Lack of health and better lifestyle

·         Indulgence in anti-social activities

·         Child labor

·         Gang violence, etc.

Role of NGOs in Education

One main reason for students not attending school or then dropping out is parental unawareness. NGOs are working to create awareness through various campaigns, workshops, talks, dramas etc., about education in rural areas. Many NGOs invite volunteers from the society to work in slums and backward areas to provide education in informal ways to attract students to attend school.

Many children and youngsters are unable to pursue higher education due to lack of affordable courses in India. Intelligent students drop out of schools and colleges as students can’t afford the expensive courses. Many of these NGOs are offering scholarships to promote education to poor students. Specials scholarships are given to encourage education for the girl child.

Numerous NGOs are undertaking exceptional work in the field of education for the poor and underprivileged students by way of training the teachers, garnering funds for the infrastructure of educational institutions, creating awareness about education in slums and rural areas, providing education through informal means. They also spread information about scholarship exam dates and have mentoring about how to crack scholarship exams so that maximum students can avail these facilities.

Conclusion:

The government of our country time and again keeps coming up with schemes and incentives to make education facilities available to everyone in our country. Unfortunately, there is much to be desired in the way these schemes are implemented. If any inroads have to be made in the implementation of these schemes, collaboration with NGOs and other organizations are needed.

There are NGOs working in education already in the country who are striving to get children and youngsters to school and keeping them there. They are also encouraging students to pursue higher education through scholarships and other facilities for skill development to make them job ready to meet industry requirements. So, we can see that the work of NGOs is very important.

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