Education is a fundamental right that springs from a person’s very being. An educated and empowered individual helps themselves and society to grow as a whole. Education allows a child to grow in all aspects– be it emotional or social, and lead a dignified life. Then what exactly is keeping the children of the 5.1% demographic of India residing in slums from acquiring a proper education?
Slum Children Deserve A Dignified Life
Children are capable of wonders if they are simply taught to hold a pencil and the powers it contains. All children are alike with their eyes full of wonder and the fire to know more. To know why the moon follows them everywhere and the world has a responsibility to not let this fire extinguish.
Most of the children living in Indian slums remain illiterate and grow up to find a living in meager jobs that barely pay them or help their families. The high fees for private schools usually hold parents back from sending their kids to schools and many of them are forced to start earning during their childhood. Children from the slums usually depend on jobs like rag picking and street performing in order to earn a daily wage to support their families.
Slum children’s education is paramount to the economic progress of the country. The literacy rate has mostly affected the increase or decline of other key determinants of socio-economic growth. A high drop-out rate is observed among slum children. Late enrollment in schools is also common in these areas due to migratory reasons. Slum children’s education in India is at a critical stage and the country needs to amplify its efforts to bring these children into the fold of quality education.
Challenges of Children Living in Slums
Slums are overcrowded with people trying to live, almost accommodate themselves in small spaces. Slum children are exposed to various hygiene and weather-related diseases and are forced to live in unhygienic conditions. Education is usually not a primary concern in these areas and parents often make their children work in their childhoods to make up for the financial gaps their families must be facing. And children are often seen selling small items like flowers, food items, or picking up garbage just seeking to contribute to their family’s income in some way.
Schooling is still a far-fetched concept for many living in these areas. Boys are either made to drop out to support their families and girls are either married off and or make a living as domestic helpers in urban households. Even if a family is ready to educate their child, they would prefer to spend the money and effort to educate their male child.
Slum Children’s Education
Education problems in slum areas are making it difficult to improve the living standards of people in slums and the overall conditions of slums as well. Educational institutions around these areas are underdeveloped and provide insufficient learning facilities. Good schools charge a fee that is overwhelming for many families and consequently, the slum children end up having low enrollment rates in schools.
Teachers of these institutions are usually not well-qualified. There is a need for teachers to understand what every child requires even more so when they come from slums. A child’s emotional and physical needs are more often than not overlooked and it makes it difficult for a child to learn in these conditions.
Underqualified teaching staff makes it all the more difficult for children to acquire quality education. Children should be made aware of the measures to be taken to prevent getting sick.
The Suffering of Slum Children Must Stop
Education is a powerful tool that empowers an individual. It can change the lives of not just one but many. But some instances take away the glimmer of hope from these children. Earlier this year, there was a piece of disheartening news about the demolition of an open school that was run under a flyover in Mayur Vihar, Delhi. It was a makeshift center run by the goodwill of an individual who wished to provide quality education to 200 children from the nearby slums.
A Dignified Life Ahead
From learning alphabets to finding them with digits, from rote learning to vocational learning, at every step, an individual is allowed to lead a dignified life with education. Smile Foundation acknowledges and works on the importance of education. With our flagship programme, Mission Education, we strive to provide quality education to slum children and bridge the gap in education between the high-income and low-income demographic.
