India has the world’s largest population of illiterate adults. India has 287 million illiterate adults, this amounts to 37% of the World’s total. India is ranked at 123 out of 135 countries in female literacy rate. 60 lakh children in India are still out-of-school, out of which 47.78% are girls.

There exists a strong tie between poverty and illiteracy. An illiterate person, who cannot read or write, is unable to get a job that would meet his needs and wants, and will be forced to take up opportunities that won’t meet his minimum expectations. This would have a direct impact on his wages, the standard of living and his ability to provide proper education to his children.

In turn his children will not be able to get better education and thereby jobs and would be forced to stay in poverty. Illiterate persons due to lack of knowledge will not be able to access proper healthcare, or understand even their fundamental rights as a citizen, thereby highly likely to be exploited and marginalized.

The Ministry Of Home Affairs conducts a census every 10 years in India. According to the 2011 Census, any person aged seven and above and has the ability to read and write is considered literate. The average literacy rate in India stands at 74.04%

After Independence in 1947 India’s literacy rate was at 12%. Censuses before 1981 the literacy rate was calculated by taking into account the entire population. From the 1991 census, Children aged 0-6 were excluded for precise calculation. In the 2001 Census the literacy rate in India was 64.80%. According to Census 2011 which was the 15th official survey conducted in the country, India managed to achieve a literacy rate of 74.04%. This Increase in Literacy rate was due to an increase in female literacy over the years. While the female literacy rate in India as per Census 2001 was 53.7%, Census 2011 recorded it at 65.5%. This change was due to the implementation of free education in rural areas. So, yes, the Literacy rate is increasing.

Awareness campaigns were launched in rural areas to create awareness among people about the importance of education. They were encouraged to attend or send their children to schools.

• The government conducts various scholarship examinations and provides school uniform, textbooks and stationery in order to encourage students and adults to take up studying.
• The Mid Day Meal Scheme was launched by the government in 1995 to provide students free food grain so as to improve enrolment, attendance, and retention in government schools. 
• Samagra Shiksha Programme was launched by the government with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness. This will be measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.

The Constitution of India recognizes the importance of education for all and lays down several provisions to ensure proper and effective implementation of educational rights in the country. These include: 

• Free and Compulsory Education: The Constitution of India (u/a 41, 45 and 46 of the Directive Principles of State Policy) instructs the state to ensure that all citizens receive free education.
• Article 21 (A) of the Constitution of India was amended to provide free and compulsory education as a fundamental right to all children aged between 6-14 years.
• Equality of Opportunity in Educational Institutions: The fundamental right of equality clearly signifies that in the eyes of law no one can be discriminated on the basis of status, caste, sex, class or creed. 
• Education of Minorities: Article 30 of the Indian Constitution gives all minorities the right to establish and administer institutions of their own choice.
• Education of Weaker Sections: Article 15, 17, and 46 of the Indian Constitution safeguard the educational interests of weaker sections of the society.

These comprise socially, economically, and educationally backward families including those belonging to scheduled castes (SCs), and scheduled tribes (STs).The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. With this, India has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act. The RTE Act provides for the:

• Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school.
• It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
• It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.
• It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
• It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, school-working days, teacher-working hours.
• It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief.
• It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.
• It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition,
• It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centered learning.

FOARA has two programs that support Education. They are:

1. Underprivileged Tribal, Costal, Slum Children Feeding & Education program: Aimed at Educating children at the most impoverished locations – Tribal, Costal & Slum – Via this program we feed the poor children with a boiled egg, a banana and a loaf of sweet bread daily and educate them with the support of our partner organizations/ volunteers
2. Rising Star Program: Aimed at supporting the Academically Advanced Children from impoverished backgrounds by Quality Education & Nutritional Feeding. We will be adding Vocational Training and Tuition Centres for competitive exams progressively as part of our social commitment to our society

FOARA is all geared up to take up the challenge of educating lakhs of children who are out of school in India, Who may never get a chance to receive an education. Your small monthly gift is crucial for FOARA to build a better life for these children.

Donate today and give them an opportunity for a happy childhood. Give the gift of education to a child. DONATE NOW

A Monthly donation of Rs 750, can educate and feed a child via the Underprivileged Tribal, Costal, Slum Children Feeding & Education program.

A Monthly donation of Rs 1500, can support a child via the Rising Star Program.