One of the most powerful tools for the social and economic progress of any country is quality education. It goes without saying that education is essential for creating equality and eliminating barriers and discrimination on the basis of race, gender and economic status. A nation’s progress and development depends on the availability of this basic civil right of education to all its citizens.

The education brings with it equality among people. While privileged children receive international quality education, most underprivileged kids are provided with education only on paper. The aim hence, for imparting education should not only be on the numbers of children educated, but also the quality of education imparted.

The gender gap in education is because of the callous attitude of our society which considers women as primarily housewives and family caretakers. Being educated gives an equal opportunity to women to be an employee and a skilled worker who use their learning as a boon that will help better the future of their families.

It was for education that a Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, defied threats from the Taliban to campaign for the right to education. She survived after being shot in the head by the Taliban and has since become a global advocate for human rights, women’s rights and the right to education.

Importance of Child Education:

Apart from giving the ability to earn a living through professional skills, the outcomes of education are multifarious which include:

• Promotion of a democracy through cultivation of a civilized society which in turn will help in the harmonious development of the entire nation.
• Cultivation of world peace.
• On a personal level, education helps in maturity and integration of personality which helps in the right modification of behaviour helping a human deal with life as a whole.

Developing countries, like India, face numerous challenges when it comes to educating their people. A large number of children in these countries are unable to complete primary school and drop out due to the cost of attending school. Many prefer to work for their family than to attend school. As a result few make it out of secondary school and very few go on to achieve a higher education.

Moreover, underprivileged children between the ages of 11 to 14 years are hugely vulnerable to dropping out of schools. An educated child stays away from an early marriage and is empowered to stand up against exploitation. As children grow, they are able to make better choices for themselves and influence the communities they live in. This transforms their present life and ensures a secure future for them.

But even today, one of the major problems is rampant illiteracy in India. The literacy rate in the country stands at 74.04% (according to the National Census, 2011). When it comes to children, the effects of illiteracy are manifold.

While the goal of universal elementary education is a long way from being achieved, and affects the condition of education for children, even adult illiteracy has effects on them. Statistics have shown that children of uneducated mothers are more prone to problems like malnutrition and anaemia. Illiterate adults are also less likely to send their children to school. Education is, in all probability, the most influential tool required to break the vicious intergenerational cycle of abuse, malnutrition, poverty and oppression. Literacy thus requires a lot of attention.

In addition to this, about 35% children in India with disabilities remain out of Elementary school (District Information System for Education – DISE, 2011-12) and the National Dropout Rate at the Elementary Level is over 40% (DISE, 2011-12).

Despite the Right to Education (RTE) Act coming into force in 2010, access to education for every child remains a huge concern in the country. The following are statistics that portray the seriousness of the situation:

• 1 in 4 children of school-going age is out of school in our country – 99 million children in total have dropped out of school (Census 2011)
• Out of every 100 children, only 32 children finish their school education age-appropriately (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15)
• Only 2% of the schools offer complete school education from Class 1 to Class 12 (District Information System for Education (DISE) 2014-15)
• There are 10.13 million child labourers between 5-14 years in India (Census 2011)
• India has 33 million working children between the ages of 5-18 years. In parts of the country, more than half the child population is engaged in labour (Census 2011)
• 42% of married women in India were married as children (District Information System for Education (DISE 3)
• 1 in every 3 child brides in the world is a girl in India (UNICEF)
• India has more than 45 lakh girls under 15 years of age who are married with children. Out of these, 70% of the girls have 2 children (Census 2011)

Unless these underlying causes are dealt with, the situation for children will not change. AARNA FOUNDATION, along with its partner organisations are working at the grassroots level to make sure that children do not have to face these barriers and can fully exercise their right to education.

We at AARNA FOUNDATION, believes in the right method of teaching and quality information over the number of students in class, or the size of a textbook.

As we know, the education has been the tipping point for individuals to transcend their limitations. AARNA FOUNDATION has made it possible for gifted and hard working children to have access to opportunities they could not have imagined before. Along with higher education, learning enables today’s children to become decisive intelligent decision makers, creating a beneficial value chain that can uplift entire communities.

So, come forward in large numbers and help us to literate underprivileged children. As we know the education is path to success at any situation of life. Your help towards AARNA FOUNDATION for underprivileged children education will definitely help them to open up many other opportunities to successes in their future.