‘Prayatna’: A Student Led Initiative to Empower Underpriviledged Children through Education

A robust education system is the cornerstone for building a strong nation. Government of India led initiatives such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Right to Education Act are some efforts made to provide universal education to children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. However these efforts appear to have received a mixed response. Quality education still remains an elusive goal. A recent study (ASER, 2015) states that in rural India, half of the children enrolled in Grade V cannot read matter pertaining to Grade 2. Reading ability even among children enrolled in private schools in rural India is poor. Close to half of all the children lack basic skills in Math and English. Amenities such as usable toilets, availability of drinking water are lacking in rural Indian schools. The situation in the urban slums pertaining to education, is a relatively unresearched area and hence not much data is available regarding the quality and the impact. Against this backdrop, the paper describes the case of 'Prayatna' which is a student led initiative to provide quality education to poor children living in the slum areas of Hinjewadi, Pune (Maharashtra). Since its inception in 2008, this NGO has helped 30 children. The dilemma for the NGO is to generate sustainable funding sources and motivate the beneficiaries, parents and volunteers which are accompanied by the challenges of managing varied aspirations.