Education & Future Generations
* Education & Future Generations: We focus on strengthening the foundation of our future through campaigns for school education and dedicated school maintenance programs, ensuring a safe and conducive learning environment for every child.
- Haryana:
* Need Level: High
* Why: While Haryana has a higher per capita income, it suffers from severe gender inequality in education and other social indicators. The child sex ratio is one of the worst in India, reflecting deep-seated social issues that directly impact girls’ access to safety and education.
* Key Issues: High dropout rates among girls in secondary school, significant urban-rural educational gaps, and issues with child labor in agriculture-based industries and auto workshops.
- Punjab:
* Need Level: Medium to High
* Why: Punjab has a relatively high literacy rate. However, it faces a different set of challenges, primarily related to economic migration and drug abuse.
* Key Issues: Children of migrant laborers (often from states like Bihar, UP) are frequently out of school. Substance abuse among adolescents can lead to school dropout. There is also a need for career guidance beyond traditional agricultural jobs.
- Delhi (National Capital Territory):
* Need Level: High (but specific)
* Why: The need in Delhi is not about overall literacy but about extreme inequality. It has some of India’s best schools and some of its most deprived communities.
* Key Issues: Education for children in slum clusters (jhuggi-jhopris) and unauthorized colonies, children of homeless families, and migrant construction workers. These children often have intermittent schooling or are completely out of the system.
Other States with Critical Need: For future expansion, consider Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP). They have the largest absolute numbers of out-of-school children and some of the highest dropout rates in the country due to population size and poverty.
Other States with Critical Need: For future expansion, consider Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
Out-of-School Children:
* According to the UNICEF report based on pre-pandemic data, India had an estimated 10.1 million children and adolescents at the elementary and secondary level out of school.
* The National Survey on Estimation of Out-of-School Children (2018) reported that over 60% of out-of-school children belonged to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Muslim communities.
* Dropout rates are highest at the secondary level, often due to economic pressures to work or get married (for girls).
Child Labor (Under 18):
* As per the 2011 Census (the latest official count), there were 10.1 million working children between the ages of 5-14 in India. NGOs often estimate the current number is significantly higher.
* The International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF report that a vast majority of child labor is in agriculture (70%), followed by services (20%) and industry (10%).
* Children working in restaurants, tea stalls, dhabas, and as domestic helpers in homes fall under the “services” category. This work is often invisible and unregulated.
A Specific Note on Children Under 12:
* Finding precise numbers for children under 12 is difficult as data is often grouped. However, it is a grave violation of India’s Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2016, which completely prohibits the employment of any child under 14 in any occupation or process.
* Any child under 14 working in a restaurant washing dishes is there illegally. They are almost always from low-income families, often from marginalized communities or migrants, and are victims of circumstance, not choice