Concern

There is a vast, almost un-measurable gap between education and learning in the government school system of our country. And this is the network that serves over 113 million* students annually. Applying their education towards a better life is an immense and often unconquerable challenge for the youth from the underserved sections of our society. There also exists a deep-rooted illusion that learning to read and write will almost magically launch you into a premium social position. Which when not fulfilled makes for an unhappy, unmotivated youth for whom education is meaningless. And so, the will and wish to pursue or even complete school is on the decline. As a consequence, there is a measurable drop in self-worth, which brings with it more serious repercussions. Firstly, it creates a huge mass of children who begin life with the unfortunate assumption that their life path is unalterable and alternate dreams have no place in that predestined future. For those who have strived in the system and still found their education inadequate, the disappointment is much greater. The fruits of their education are not as imagined and the opportunities promised to remain out of reach. In more extreme evaluations this lack of self-worth reveals itself in the form of higher suicide rates among the youth. It is also one of the underlying causes of antisocial, anti-civic behaviour that rapidly translates into a higher crime rates.