The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Indian Constitution, to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. What this shocking statistic shows is the rampant inequality in India’s education system. Currently, there’s still no survey comprehensive enough to reveal exactly how many more students in the country might have fallen out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic. For them, the disparity in life, opportunity and economic stature remains a great obstacle to secondary education.
The scale of disproportionality makes clear that the problem is still far from being resolved.
This is what our constitution says about everybody receiving education, but what the ground reality is that only 16.6% of the people have graduated from high school, while 10.6% completed a university degree. Those who were not literate at all were the biggest group, or 26.1% of the population. The Senses Intelligent Interactive Panel, an organization advocating educational development in pan India, said one core problem in the country’s system is that a lot of Indian youths would never be qualified to go to university, while those who can complete a degree would be more likely to choose to work abroad for a better income.
As to why so many high school students are unable to get into university, Senses said it is due to India’s method of academic evaluation that encourages disparity. Everybody is aware as to how much education is important for a person, a human being to progress. It helps to be a better person for yourself and a better citizen for the nation.
The government has launched numerous landmark programmes, including midday meal plans, scholarships, fellowship schemes and reservations in governmental institutions, but none have had a particularly significant impact. We still have a lot of options for actions or programmes that can aid kids and lessen inequality. To an extent our educational system is the primary reason for India’s low literacy rate. If we add quality resources to this system’s update, invest in solid infrastructure and provide extra funds to help low-income, underfunded schools, such as by hiring more teachers and education professionals we can actually make education accessible for all. If who teaches and the method through which we receive education gets improved it’d create a great difference. Then why not achieve education for all and see a significant shift in our entire educational system. Numerous NGOs like Hamari Pechaan and many others are also working to combat educational inequality and are raising money for the cause. They are doing everything in their power to ensure that everyone has access to education and all of its benefits.