I huddled closer to my 3-year-old brother under the same old tattered blanket we
had used for years. A flurry of sounds diverted my attention to the door, behind
which I could distinctly make out the loud boom of my father’s voice and my
mother’s quiet whispers.
“I want you to take her to the fields tomorrow.”
“What about her School?” my mother questioned.
“We both know we can not afford it anymore. Besides, what is she actually
learning huh? We need her here. I can barely work enough to earn the bare
minimum for our family to survive on. She should be working out there with me.”
He paused. “Things are going to get tougher now with another kid on the way.”
As the voices quieted down, I glanced at my brother’s innocent little face. He’d
probably not even get to go to School for a day in his life with the way things
were progressing. I sighed, and turned over to the other side, trying to go back
to sleep.
Education. About 25.8% of the Indian population have completed Primary School.
Even lesser have actually gone on to finish their Senior Secondary Level of
Education, namely 6.7% of the country’s population. That means out of a
population 136 crores, only 37, 816 people have passed High School. (Data:
2001 Census of India)
Education. This one simple solution can solve most of the complex problems
faced by our country. Unemployment. Integrating skills, utilized by the up-and-
coming industries, within the people. Population Explosion. Thwart the
widespread mentality that more hands mean more money. And last, but not the
least, Poverty.
Education. India has the second largest population in the world, soon to overtake
China in the same regard. Many regard this level of population as a liability. It
currently is being seen that way, but we can easily turn around this burden to an
asset, if only we work towards spreading education to the widest and remotest
corners of the country. Yes, it will take a lot of efforts but it’s not tough if we
commit ourselves to the goal, to the vision, to the dream.
Stop running away from the problems to take refuge in another country. Stay
and work on helping turn our biggest liability to our biggest asset. It will take
years, maybe even decades. But we would definitely be one step closer to
attaining our goal.
- Rashna
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