Education in India has been made free for those between the ages of 6 to 14. However, reports state that over 30 million children in India, up to the age of 14 have never received a formal education. Over the years, there has been a 4% increase in literacy rates in India from 2011 (73%) to 2022 (77%). Yet, over 28 crore people in India are still illiterate.
However, the constitution states that education for children till the age of 14 is a compulsory Fundamental Right. So then why is India still heavily illiterate?
This is because gender and caste discrimination as well as economical and technological barriers and inaccessibility lead to illiteracy in India.
Over 13,000 Indian villages do not have schools
The closure of schools in India due to the pandemic negatively affected the learning of over 200 million children. For many, online schooling was not an option till late.
In some places even today, children born into lower castes are excluded from getting a formal education, being deemed unworthy of it.
Countless more setbacks do not enable the education rights in India.
Education is an integral part of upbringing and is the first step towards progress that will end up affecting people on a grander scale. It is crucial for development and therefore a cause that we need to give serious attention to. However, numerous NGOs have been working towards this problem and making education more accessible to many underprivileged children.