Why only in urban areas?

Every citizen of India today understands the value of education, whether for individual welfare or national progress as a whole. Surprisingly, this idea of education seems restricted to urban areas only. If we assume this to be true, it raises an uncomfortable doubt. Is our entire education system only meant for those who can pay for this education?

Is education only for the wealthy?

The dismissive attitude of people today towards the issue of rural education is not too difficult to notice. The inability of our education system to provide quality education in rural areas is conveniently labeled as a failure on the part of the government. People seem to be much more enthusiastic when the same topic of education is mentioned in the context of a city, as is clear from the widespread activism for urban educational reforms, whether at the school level or for higher education.

Does the attitude of the people on the same issue changes when it is raised for the weaker section of the society?

Education is supposed to, apart from other things, enhance the worldview of people and make them realize their aptitudes and talents, academic or otherwise. Sadly, education in India today appears more like a transaction. Pay the fees, get a degree, earn through that degree– those seem to be steps that a person takes when he or she goes to college. People in the rural areas are bound to be at a disadvantage, they do not qualify the first step.

This commercial attitude reduces education to a commodity, and a very high priced commodity at that. In the middle of it all we totally forget the welfare of our children; children with real aspirations and real hopes. Their only fault, if it may be called a fault at all, is that they may not have enough money to polish their talents. People, somehow, seem completely oblivious to this. Is it because those children are too far away for us to care about them? Is that logical, or simply insensitive? The answer seems more disappointing than the issue itself, considering that we call ourselves a democracy.

— Srijan Upadhyay

Crying for development

The entire country is talking about development. Something that is required in every sphere of our lives. Perhaps that is the reason why all parties harped on this chord during the General Election — that is they are chosen to lead the government at the Center, they would bring about overall development.

HOPING FOR CHANGE: Children throng to the head office

of JND Charitable Trust

But all that talk is at the macro level. The need of the hour is change at the micro level which organizations like JND Charitable Trust are striving hard to bring about. Development at the micro level comes with education. Children of both the affluent and the underprivileged cannot be denied the right to attain knowledge and it is the responsibility of the state and central governments to give the same to them.

Considering the fact that there are many issues plaguing government schools, a medium is required to highlight those issues and bring them to the notice of the state and central governments. There are a lot of funds that are released by the government, but are they utilized in the best possible manner? If one goes to any rural area, the answer would stare starkly in their faces. No probe is required.

So what has JND Charitable Trust been doing in bringing about the requisite change so that society development can take place? The Trust undertook and Education Awareness Drive at a very micro level — by reaching out to over 500 children in the villages surrounding Baraipatti in Kushinagar district where the head office is located.

What was planned on May 2, 2014 — Akshay Tritiya — as a modest function turned out to be something unprecedented. While plans were made to give answer books, pencil boxes, water bottles, etc to around 100 underprivileged children, the turnout was five times more. Considering the limited donation that was received for this event, we had to distribute the things to children as we did not want any of them to go back empty handed. And there did not.

The next step was to cater to children in urban areas. Most schools, even private ones, face a funds crunch as they cannot charge fees that are beyond the reach of the common residents of the area. As a result, they are always looking at organizations that can contribute towards the well-being and further education of children studying in such institutions.

On May 5, 2014, JND Charitable Trust held a simple function at Gyan’s Global Academy in Gorakhpur and contributed about 78 books so that a library could be started. These books — on Moral Science, Panchatantra, quotations, Akbar-Birbal stories, Children's Knowledge Bank, dictionary (English-Hindi), etc — will serve as ready references for the children and help them gain knowledge which they would otherwise be deprived of without a proper set up being in place.

Development must start at the micro level in addition to what is being done at the macro level. The endeavor of the Trust would help children be better educated and have knowledge about many domains so that they can enter the competitive arena without any hiccups and with utmost confidence.