Education Is The Primary Goal To Help Empower Children

There are an estimated 46 million children between 6-18 years of age who are not in school (Source: RGI Census Population Projection 2016 and Unified DISE 2016-17). Many children have never had the chance to attend school and several others dropped out for varied reasons - either to work as child labourers or because they’re being forced to get married. This is the brutal truth that continues to affect the development of children.

When not attending school, children are particularly more vulnerable to economic exploitation, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and early marriage. The Coronavirus pandemic worsened the situation regarding children's education in India as it led to the closure of 1.5 million schools due to the resultant lockdowns. UNICEF further highlights that this impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India. The pandemic has kept children out of school for over 17 months, thus creating hurdles in their aspirations to complete their school education.

Child labour has considerably increased in the recent few years. This is why we have been working hard to protect the future of children and ensure they have access to education. The CRY teams have been addressing the learning gap through bridge schools as the long academic vacuum has resulted in children losing touch with their school subjects and the habit of structured learning. To support their learning, we have been conducting online classes through digital tablets with the help of qualified teachers. We have also been providing psychosocial support to children as they have been at a higher risk of facing issues of stress, abuse, and neglect due to the loss of livelihoods and restricted movements during the lockdowns.

Collective and continuous efforts are the need of the hour to ensure children get back to a structured setting so that they can continue their education and explore their true potential. We currently have 180 bridge learning centres in India, serving 24,793 children in 307 villages. However, there is still more to be done. Your generous contribution to CRY, India’s most trusted NGO, can protect children's rights and give them a brighter future. Your donation to NGO CRY will help pave their way to a better future!