HOW TO CREATE AWARENESS ON NATIONAL EDUCATION DAY “A man without education is like a building without a foundation.” Education, the most powerful tool to change the world, brings confidence, hope, and peace to a person. It teaches the ability to read and write and thus gain information and become literate. It is a basic right of every human on this planet to get educated. Restricting this right is a crime. Education helps spread knowledge in society. It influences the mind to be able and willing to be reflective, be self-aware and mindful of others and nurtures curiosity, agility and gives them a chance to play an active role in the betterment of the community. Education can reduce poverty, empower women, reduce crimes, wars, and terrorism, and uplift the economically weaker class of people in the country. It helps create a modern world, act as a bridge between the people and the organisations, improve communication skills and improves the economy of the country. Thus education plays a vital role in the lives of the citizens. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was enacted in 2009 to ensure that every child gets an education in a school in the neighbourhood by the state governments and local bodies. Even after the amendment of the constitution, the literacy rate is around 74.04% all around the country in the recent survey conducted. Why? It is because of extreme poverty and lack of awareness of the importance of education in urban and rural India. Gender discrimination and inequality against girl child makes it more prone for them to be illiterate than compared to their male counterparts. Non-availability of quality education, less proximity to schools and colleges and certain social practices have also played a role in increasing the illiteracy rates. About 92% of government schools haven’t implemented the RTE act completely. The government has conducted various scholarship programs to help families in need. They’ve also provided school uniforms, textbooks, stationery, and bicycles to students to encourage students and adults to take up studying. The Mid Day Meal scheme (1995) and the Samagra Shiksha Programme launched by the government help in improving school effectiveness. Awareness campaigns were also launched in rural areas to create awareness among the people about the importance of education. Most of the families in rural India are unaware of the opportunities after education and often urge their children to take up domestic tasks or help in labour than get educated. The people who were unable to get an education when they were children, get embarrassed and think it’s a form of shame to attend schools when they are adults. So, it is very crucial to make people realise how much their life can change through education. This can be done through regular workshops, seminars and fundraising events conducted all around the country. The government should set up schools in various villages and towns and increase their investment in government schools and 1 provide basic facilities like drinking water, functional toilets, and handwashing areas to encourage students, especially girl children, to not drop out of school. Vocational training can help individuals seek employments in carpentry, plumbing, stitching, and nursing. Teachers should also be trained, educated, and qualified in both public and private schools. This helps them to bring a positive impact on the minds of the children. Regressive social norms result in the lack of education and dropping out of schools by girl children. These norms should be reformed to break the cycle of illiteracy and patriarchal norms for future generations. These are a few of the ways awareness can be brought about. These are a few of the ways awareness can be brought about among the people about the importance of education as education plays a huge role in this modern, industrialized, and ever-changing and progressing world. People need to be educated to survive in this competitive world and be able to fend for themselves and their families. Without educated people, the world cannot be a better place to live in. Thus, for the evolution of the country, education is a must. References: https://www.indiacensus.net/literacy-rate.php https://www.efatrust.com/rural-education/promoting-educationawareness/#:~:text=Promoting%20Education%20AwarenessPromoting%20Education%20Awareness,things%20ahead%20for%20every%20child https://www.oxfamindia.org/featuredstories/10-facts-illiteracy-india-you-must-know https://www.theasianschool.net/blog/importance-of-education/ https://www.habitatbroward.org/benefits-of-education/ 2