Grassroots Voices
INDIA
JAZZ HANDS: STUDENTS
TAKE CENTER STAGE
Ira Diwase
Since attaining independence, the Government
of India has been implementing several
programs and schemes aimed at providing
children, especially young girls, with access
to quality education, to equip them with the
requisite knowledge and skills required for
self-development and nation building. The
achievements in this regard have however been
rather skewed with a marked difference existing
between the rural and urban regions of the
16
country. The area-wise learning outcomes in four
subjects namely English, Mathematics, Science
and Social Science, compiled by the Ministry
of Human Resource Development, Department
of School Education & Literacy, New Delhi,
India, observed in 2016 that in all subjects, urban
students outperform rural students by a large
margin. Even within the urban areas, the children
from the privileged parts of society outperform
those from the economically backward areas.
Change Magazine September 2017 www.changemag-diinsider.com
The Problem
Interaction with girl students
who come from underprivileged
sections of society revealed a
huge gap in their capabilities to
comprehend and keep up with the
rigors of a challenging curriculum
while at college. The sub-standard
level of education at the primary
and secondary levels of learning
at municipal schools makes it very
difficult for these kids to compete
with their city-bred counterparts
coming from English medium
schools. Most of these students
also display extremely low levels
of self-worth and self-esteem
compared to their peers, mainly
on account of their inability to
speak the English language—
which over the years has become
synonymous with success in
the country. With the shortage
of funds, qualified teachers and
facilities in India, standard solutions
seemed far-fetched and it was felt
that innovative interventions would
have to be envisioned to tackle the
issue.
www.changemag-diinsider.com Change Magazine September 2017
17