Posted On: 2022-09-27 17:34:46
We all know the significance of education for a child's career and eventually, for the growth of the nation. Alas, we also know the fact that in India, not every child gets an equal opportunity to access education, which is the child's fundamental right! A successful career is built on a solid educational base. Every year there are multiple challenges faced by rural students in India.
As per a U-DISE 15-16 report, out of the 196 million elementary school-going children, 146 million were rural students in India. The government has been constantly working to encourage more school enrollments. New programmes and facilities are provided every year to improve rural Indian education. Despite these developments, there is a rise in the number of school dropouts as well. As per (ASER) 2021, the dropout rate of 2.5% in 2018 went up to 4.6% in 2022. School-going children in rural India are engaged in many other day-to-day activities which are way different from the students in cities. To support their family, they have to start working at an early age. Children of the age group 10-14 start working either at farms or construction sites. This is child labour which is illegal in India, but an empty stomach forces them to do so.
Challenges Faced by Rural Students in India
It isn't just child labour that is responsible for the increasing number of school dropouts in rural India. There are a few more that severely affect the education life of rural students.
1. Financial constraints
Although many rural students quit schooling in India, many manage to complete their primary studies and wish to study further and pursue secondary or higher education. They need to pay fees to acquire higher education. It does not matter how huge or small the amount is, for the rural students already facing financial constraints, it's beyond their capabilities. Hence, they choose to discontinue studying in spite of having ambitions.
2. Lack of Trained Staff
The schools in remote areas lack the number of teaching staff. The staff that is available is from the village itself, who do not have an adequate degree. Often, in rural schools, the number of students exceeds the number of teachers required to teach. Many government schools in rural India, hire ad hoc teachers. These teachers are not qualified to teach students. On the other hand, when trained teachers are placed in rural schools, they are underpaid. They also have to travel long distances every day which proves to be inconvenient for them and hence, they do not serve for a longer period.
3. Lack of Extra-Curricular Activities
If you see urban schools, they have numerous activities planned for students. It includes dance, music, sports, painting, and other languages. Rural schools fail to add these activities to the regular curriculum of students, therefore, keeping the rural students away from the opportunities to enhance their quality of life.
4. Lack of Advanced Tools
It is difficult to increase digital skills in rural students due to low or negligible access to digital devices. Today's digital era makes learning advanced and requires the help of devices like computers, projectors, and recorded lessons to enhance the learning experience. But the rural schools cannot manage the funds to install these.
5. The Impact of COVID-19
During COVID-19 lockdowns, urban students could continue their courses through the internet and other devices from their homes. But rural students had to face a major gap in their studies. According to UNESCO (UNESCO 2020), the Covid-19 pandemic has forced school closures for almost 0.32 billion students in India. Out which 84% are from rural India. Many parents lost their jobs during the period of lockdown, which again became a reason for affording school fees.
6. Improper Sanitation
A significant issue in schools is general sanitation, which has an effect on student's health. It is crucial to have accessible, clean restrooms, especially for female students. Only 66.4% of schools, according to the ASER 2018 data, have usable restrooms for girls. Even if there are toilets built in the schools, ownership issues, lack of motivation or lack of maintenance are the reasons why these toilets were unusable. Young girls often miss days at school during their monthly menstruation days because of inadequate hygiene facilities.
The Bottom Line...
These challenges are the primary reasons or challenges that the Indian rural schools have been facing for many years. Others include gender inequality, long distanced schools, and lack of infrastructure. To cope with these, government and non-profit organizations have made several efforts. Fortunately, their efforts have been successful to some extent, but not seen everywhere. We all need to join hands in order to improve rural education in India.
Filaantro firmly believes that every child should get equal opportunities to acquire education. Hence, we at Filaantro support the education of underprivileged children. On our crowdfunding platform, we have fundraisers that support underprivileged students' education. They need your attention and generosity, so the concerned children can live their dream of building a successful career.
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“All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”
~APJ Abdul Kalam
But we know the reality that every child does not get an equal opportunity to develop their talents or study. Let’s join hands to provide them with that opportunity!
Author: Anjali Patel
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