Education in India is still today a distant dream for many. When I visited Keonjhar, I met some children near my picnic spot. I don't know from which tribes they belong to. There are many Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG'S) in Odisha. They might be from the Munda or Santhal tribe. When I visited the lone house near our picnic spot I saw some kids playing outside. The younger one, a girl was munching some biscuits given by people visiting the place for a picnic. I tried to interact with them through the languages that I knew. Nothing worked out. Probably they are unable to understand Oriya, their dialect is different. When I asked them about the school through signs and hand gestures they said that they do travel to school. Accessibility is still a barrier in many parts of India-accessibility in terms of reach to school and related resources. Barriers can be many -geographical, rugged terrain, poor internet connectivity, poverty, broken families. The list could be endless. When I saw the little ones cleaning plates from visitors leftover I felt where is their childhood. Are we as stakeholders of the education system really working to make their lives better? Disparities in terms of rural-urban divide, resources, and others seem to leave many children out of school.
When I returned at the end of the day to Bhubaneswar, many thoughts were fast running in my mind. The images of the kids, the tears on their faces raised many questions in my mind. Wandering around after having food, I visited a family and saw another girl selling wine made of Mohua to a visitor for a meager 20 rs.
In Keonjhar, people use solar panels for their works in most of the places. Issues associated with accessibility if taken care of by people associated with educating young children can work miraculously to trap the potential of the human resource of the country.
