Rural Education of India: The reality
The story of right education before right to education
Step outside the city walls and try to look into the small living rooms of rural India, not good enough for a healthy living yet struggling for a better life. They are the Dalits. A word that has always been misunderstood for generations. And for hundreds of years, we have broken them so further that they are now unable to stand with their heads up, so low in confidence that they are unable to speak properly with the outside world, education for them is no less than landing on Mars.
Government schools in Chorauwan village in Chhapra, Bihar are over flooded with children, teachers are irregular, no electricity, no cleanliness, no rules. I was told that a class 7 student in a government school can not even write 7 by himself. Parents are illiterate so they have absolutely no idea about education. They only know that if their children attend school they will become a better person and may find better work to earn a few extra money for their family. The logic behind sending a child to a school is more or less the same in both literate & illiterate people. Even the highest educated parents may have the same reason for sending their children to the best & most expensive schools in the world. But there lies a difference. The quality of education. Our government may have implemented the ‘right to education’ act but at ground level, all the basics are crumbling like a pack of cards. Poorest of poor families who can not even afford their basic needs like food and cloth, how can we expect them to attend a government school with no good education.
Prakash studied in a government school, his father used to run a small mill where wheat was crushed into flour at 25 paise per kilo during the years of early 2000. So from an early age, the value of money was seeding into Prakash. He was weak in English as government schools are extremely poor in the same. So he dedicated himself to self-learning, studied around 18 hours a day, worked in different call centres in Delhi which help him learn English. And finally, he got into the Indian air force. But when he came back home he saw himself among the poor children. They were all struggling just like he did a few years back. He saw people stealing for life, some living empty stomach, children as small as only few years old are victims of malnutrition, water & food crisis, men taking drugs, alcohol and dying leaving behind their entire family to struggle for the basic needs. Local problems can not be solved at the national level. The work has to be done at the ground level. And the first step was to give the right education to these poor families.
Prakash with the help of his family & friends started a school in the same village where he grew up. It was named as Pathshaala International. Today the school is running for over two and a half years and its providing education to more than 300 children. But the inception was not that easy. Traveling to close by villages and encouraging children and their parents for education was a tough task. But Prakash and his team never lose hope. They promised to provide free education to extremely poor families and will charge minimal to those who can afford fees. The next big challenge was to find teachers for his school. Women-life in the village is different than that of the cities. They are not allowed to step out on their own, teaching in a school is like a fairy tale for them. But Prakash with his strong determination also made this fairy tale come true. Today pathshaala school is having more female teachers than male.
Prakash and his team are moving at a great speed, soon they will start Srijan, a special skill-based education module through which they promise to empower 50 women every year at no cost. The one-year module will include training in basic English, computer, social awareness, nature conservation, understand women empowerment law, women health & hygiene, teachers training, leadership skills, social media awareness, understand traffic rules and teach driving and photography. Prakash has travelled to many places and he knew the importance of empowering the village women. Gender quality can not only happen in the cities, but it also has to take place in the remotest villages of India. Let us all help Prakash & his team to achieve a better rural life through education and women empowerment.
If you want to help Prakash & his team then you can make a donation at http://www.paathshalarural.org
