Teach India

I had asked the guard of my building to send a maid some days back. One day the door bell rang and I saw an aged woman with a very small child, who was sucking her thumb and holding her mother’s hand, standing at my doorstep. “Yes, how can I help you?” I asked. “I was told that you are looking for a maid. This is my daughter. She is 8 years old but can manage all household chores……..” I could not believe my eyes and ears when I saw and heard what the lady was telling me. Her constant shower of praises for the work of her youngster faded in the background of my anger and disgust at the plight of our nation. I asked her if she could work instead of the little girl and her answer surprised me further. She told me that she and her other 4 daughters were already working somewhere else and only this child was available. She had not put her to work till now as she thought the girl was too young, but now with inflation in everything, it had become mandatory of her to start earning as soon as possible.

Ours is the largest democracy in the world but where do we stand as far as literacy is concerned. Interestingly, around 30% of the world’s illiterate population comes from India. The literacy rate in India is around 60% of which the majority of the literates residue in urban areas (which does not account for more than 10% of the inhabited land). Right to education is a fundamental right of every human being but unfortunately more than half the population of our country has been denied this basic right. Lack of education has resulted in growth of unemployment, poverty and a substantial increase in rate of growth of population. Why do you think the lady who came to me had to force her 8 year old to work. It’s because she herself was an illiterate. Had she been educated, she would have been able to make a wise decision of planning a family according to her financial capacity. Instead of 5 daughters (don’t know if there was a line of boys too) she would have concentrated her efforts on just 1 or 2 children, send them to school, made them capable of decent employment and gotten rid of her own poverty in due course of time. People below the poverty line don’t see more children as negligence on part of their responsibilities as parents; rather they see them as more hands to work and earn.

Most of the voters in our country are illiterate; votes of the literate people (which are already meager in number since literate Indians often choose not to vote, considering the fact that almost all candidates are illiterate and incompetent) do not affect the election process in a major way. In consequence, votes are influenced by factors such as religion and caste of the candidates, and, the nation ends up with a government made of people who are corrupt and who don’t spare a thought before accepting bribery to do something that would harm the country. Most of the politicians can’t be blamed; being illiterate themselves, they do not have the power and sensibility to make intelligent decisions.

Illiteracy has proven to be a major handicap. It has percolated through the various systems that determine India’s growth. So pathetic is the state of affairs in our country that education itself operates on corruption. Half the people on the council of information and education are illiterates themselves. The curriculums are never revised and teachers in rural areas lack the necessary qualification and knowledge required to teach. Major grants are promised by all politicians before the general elections and soon after they are elected to power, all the money promised goes into their own treasuries.

What can we, as individuals do to improve this situation. The answer is “a lot”. A small effort made by us can go a long way in improving this grave situation of our country. Many conscious efforts are made by numerous NGO’s to promote education amongst poor. The latest one is “Teach India” which has been initiated by Times of India group. Teach India is a nation-building initiative (or social initiative) from the Times of India that brings together children in need of education and people who can contribute a little time towards teaching them. It is based on one simple principle: “If you have the desire to teach, we will put you in touch with underprivileged children who are willing to learn.”

Wake up countrymen. It’s a noble cause and won’t take much effort from you. All they are asking for is a few hours from your busy schedules. I’m confident that if we all pledge to educate at least 1 person in our lifetime it will be enough to help India rise from the status on an underdeveloped nation to that of a developed nation.