What is the greatest problem faced by India? Some may say corruption; others may argue that it is overpopulation; but if we examine the majority of problems, we will realise that their root cause is illiteracy. Lack of literacy, or lack of awareness, gives rise to all these problems in our country.
As of the last survey on International Literacy Day, which was on 8th September, 2020, India’s literacy rate is at 77.7%, which considering its population, means that an excessively high number of people in our country are still illiterate. According to a survey conducted by UNICEF, out of every 100 students, 29 dropout of school without completing their education. This may be due to a variety of reasons; in most cases in our country, children too need to bring some income to contribute to their daily meal. Despite education being free until fourteen years of age for every boy and girl, a number of parents abstain from letting their children obtain a complete education because of financial issues, in which case these children are sent to factories where they are treated mercilessly and deprived of their childhood. These are the marginalized children, who like us have every right to education but are deprived of it just because of their unfortunate circumstances.
If a mid day meal program should be commenced; a majority of these problems would be greatly reduced as it would be the weight of one meal off the parents’ shoulders. Another problem that occurs in the case of young girls is child marriage and lack of washrooms in schools. These misconceptions and stereotypes can be cleared if the issue is addressed in every village by either organizing seminars or distributing pamphlets written in the local language. If one who was privileged was to sponsor the education of just one or two children, then maybe one day, every child in our country could have their right to education.
Here, I conclude with the wise words of Malala Yousafzai-
“Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world”.
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