THE CHALLENGE

With about 20 million children unable to access school education, the pandemic has proven to be not just a health crisis but also an education crisis. A child being out of school for prolonged periods is said to have a devastating impact on a child’s well-being and learning. Especially with children from socio-economically weaker communities rarely returning to schools and being forced to forgo schooling due to access barriers.

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In a vast and diverse country like India, last-mile welfare delivery and access to rights for marginalized communities are often spearheaded by grassroots organizations than state functionaries since these organizations are more attuned to the socio-economic realities of the communities they serve. They have been working relentlessly to reverse the effects of this crisis, but their efforts often fall short due to a lack of funding or mission-critical talent.

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Tackling the OoSC (out of school children) crisis and creating sustainable change toward education in these communities would involve strengthening and enabling existing welfare delivery systems namely, non-governmental and governmental grassroots organizations.