Education system in India is still in the developing stages, we might be aware that Education in the rural parts of India has not reached its potential, there are many struggles and reaching out to them in the remote areas is a task that Government is taking up steadily, however the pace is slow and not effective considering the infrastructure, teaching quality and hygiene is concern. Thou there are many NGO’s working on this system to be more effective so that the rural parts get their share of fair Education and infrastructure, but even they are tied up when it comes to getting the necessary funds required to furnish these basic needs, as per Article 21-A of the Constitution of India and its consequent legislation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 became operative in the country on 1st April 2010 and this has lead to promising future for Education in the rural parts of India.

If we look at the ASER (ANNUAL STATUS OF EDUCATION REPORT) report of 2014, there are statistics which shows that only 75% of schools have provision for drinking water, however how clean the water is for consumption is a broad question, some other interesting finding from the report states that usable toilets for boys are only 65% for boys and 55.7% for girls. If we talk about playground in these schools, you would be surprised to know that only 65.3% of them have space for playgrounds, which clearly shows that there is a definite need for improvement in these grey areas of schooling for kids in the rural areas.

** Note (The data of ASER ( ANNUAL STATUS OF EDUCATION REPORT) report of 2014 was conducted all around India from 577 rural districts – 30 randomly selected villages in each district -20 randomly selected households per village – All children age 3 to 16 in the household.

The other major concern due to lack of basic amenities like clean water, hygiene, proper toilets for girl child specially is the drop outs rates are accelerating  significantly and there are less enrollments in these Govt run schools, as the stats shows a dip from 6.95% (2013-14) to 14.77% (2014-15)

Talking about the need for some action to be taken for revamp of schools in rural India, Support my School a programme run by Coca-Cola India & NDTV in association with the UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) aims to revitalize 1,000 schools in the country, the program undertakes the following core activities:

• Provision of improved access to water
• Appropriate sanitation facility for girls and boys
• Improvement in the overall school infrastructure and environment
• Provision for sports and recreation facilities and
• Recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting

With such necessary amenities in place, schools are able to provide a cleaner and healthier environment more conducive to learning.

Support My School is a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) initiative that aims to improve basic amenities in government schools like separate toilets for boys and girls and access to water. The Campaign is also committed to developing the overall infrastructure like playground and a clean environment to encourage a holistic learning environment. The Schools revitalized under the campaign have served as model schools in several districts and have led to enhanced community engagement and higher emphasis on attendance and enrollment.

You can also join hands and support in this cause along with NDTV MISSION 1000.