Education for all: Accessible & Affordable

 

When Prime Minister announced lockdown in India, classrooms got constricted into 4*4 screen. This has led to problems for not just students but also for teachers because no one was prepared for such a transformation. The privileged students had access to resources like the Internet, smartphones and their own rooms, many others faced a lack of space, time and money to continue with their studies. With people having lost their jobs, paying school fees become a problem. The child too were unable to fully comprehend what was taught in online classes and the lack of physical activity led to a certain level of restlessness, anxiety and depression.

This led us to go back in history and understand why it’s important to have an education system which is accessible and affordable. Despite our understanding of both the importance and power of educating young people around the world, countless hurdles remain in our way. To serve the needs of children around the world both today and in the years to come, education must be accessible, high-quality and sustainable. 

Hera Public School understood that a critical first step in closing the education gap is growing the number of classroom seats available in underserved communities. Hence the built a local school that serves the needs of their children at Aligarh and makes education convenient and accessible to more families. Through specialized education financing, opportunity has expanded access to credit for school proprietors to increase the capacity of their local schools and for parents to be able to send all of their children to school when fees are due.

Hera Public School has launched scholarships for the ones who need and have made the curriculum in such a way that not just school fee, children can also afford hostels. These improvements and expansions create more seats for more kids—ensuring children have a place to go to school. These scholarships help parents spread out the costs of their children’s education and thus avoid having to remove their children from school when money is tight. For families with seasonal incomes, these solve the problems created by inconsistent cash flows and empower parents to send their children to school without fear of having to pull them out because of budgetary constraints. 

In order for kids to go to school, a school must first exist. This means that physically, there is a school that children can get to—close enough to home that they don’t spend their whole day traveling, and a safe enough journey that parents are willing to let their children make it. For rural families especially, school infrastructure in and of itself presents a barrier to education. And for those living in conflict regions—which accounts for nearly half of the out-of-primary-school population—schools may simply be unavailable. And Hera Public School has made this dream come true where they even provide hostels to the students from far fledged regions.

Ours is a modern education which is a blend of values and skills that are not just learnt but also put into practice. Hera Public School looks to support all their students equally and not just the toppers. We highly focus on those who are not doing so well. This is the area that has lead to a revolution, as a majority falls in this strata.

And remember there are 263 million children and youth who aren’t in school today. Who won’t be in school tomorrow? Or the day after that. These kids are bursting with infinite possibilities, but need accessible, high-quality, sustainable education in order to unlock their full potential. They need an opportunity. A school is only doing its job if it is actually teaching its students well.

At Hera Public School, we believe in the power of education. We seek to create opportunities for school proprietors, teachers, parents and students, ultimately enabling children to not only go to school, but to learn.