The number of social inequalities that are found in India, is somewhat similar to the number of flavours of ‘bubble tea’ available at the nearest cafe. The greatest is the one found in the education system of our country, the goal of which is to provide quality education to whoever has the social capital, wealth, and privilege to afford it every student.

Our society is divided into classes or sections based on wealth, social authority and caste privilege. Therefore, the quality of education that the children coming from these groups receive, heavily varies. The children of the ultra-wealthy always have the option to go to top universities and colleges to make a career should they desire. But the middle class and the low-income groups of our society are at the mercy of the system. A system which does not seem to serve its purpose of providing quality education to all citizens.

Yes, students are told that there are ways to make a career in whichever sector they desire, but that is not true for every student. There are esteemed institutions that teach all disciplines of academic pursuit but are heavily gatekept behind certain conditions of social status, caste privilege, wealth and more. The ability of a household to deliver on these factors decides the quality of education it receives.

The citizens of India take pride in announcing that the JEE is the toughest examination in the country and that those who study hard, can only get admission into the top IIT colleges, but are not ashamed when told about the number of suicides in these colleges every year.

Here, if anyone asks the question –“why is it, that a student has to prove that they are worthy of receiving the education they want, that that quality of education is not available in all colleges or in the college nearest to them ?” the whole facade crumbles

It has been asked countless times what is it that makes these top engineering colleges so special and elite in the quality of the education they provide, that it can’t be replicated in every city and village. Counter arguments can be given but there is no denying the fact that as of now, there is no system or funds in place to do so. Is that a failure?

The situation of schools is also not the best as seen from the testimonies of the millions of students themselves. In non-metropolitan cities, the quality of education is heavily determined by the residing committee rather than the syllabus and the curriculum, as a result, 75% of 9th graders in India cannot understand what 488/3 means, says Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash who is the fastest human calculator. Is that a failure?

It is no surprise that with these systems and obstacles in place, the children living in poverty don’t dream of getting into a top IIT

When accustomed to these facts, one certainly tries to look for a solution to help those who don’t have access to education. The students at The Aarambh organisation, which is an NGO that provides for the needs of the impoverished, also made efforts to help the children of the slums with their basic education. The project ‘Sharda’ of The Aarambh conducts drives in the slums to provide basic education.