“There is need to innovate. We are levers of change and technology should be used to push us further,” argued 11-year-old Shehzaadi, a student from Katha lab school.
She was one of the six students debating at the mock parliament session organised by non-profit organisation Katha here on Thursday. Katha, in collaboration with organisations including Child Rights and You (CRY), Teach For India and HelpAge India, launched the ‘300 Million Challenge’, which aims to improve the literacy rate of children from disadvantaged sections across the country.
Educational goals
“One of the biggest challenges in this large population is the fact that children are made to work. They either stay in the same class forever or are forced to quit school,” Shehzaadi added.
According to a 2016 UNESCO report, “India will be half-a-century late in achieving its universal educational goals”.
Katha founder Geeta Dharmarajan said, “Children deserve quality education. We are saying that India will be a superpower. But who all will participate in the functioning of this superpower? We cannot simply depend on English medium schools. We need to have all children at the same level so that India as a country can grow. Even though there is a Right to Education, there is hardly any quality education being provided to children in government schools. We intend to give a voice to these 300 million children across the nation.”
