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Every year 2^nd October is observed as Gandhi Jayanti to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, also known as the father of the nation. Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and philosophy of truth, unity, and peace were not only an inspiration for India, but the whole world. In fact, the United Nations established 2^nd October as the International Day of Non-Violence as a commemoration to Gandhi’s work and to mark this occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness". Mahatma Gandhi believed in the power of education and hoped to see all children, men, and women educated in the country. He said, “Education is the realisation of the best in man – body, soul, and spirit”.

The role of education in society is to create responsible and independent citizens, along with advocating the values of tolerance, peace, equality, and unity. And this makes quality education a critical factor in the upliftment of the society. Not just the government, but non-governmental organisations and the civil society – including businesses and individuals are making efforts to make quality education available and accessible for all.

Hurdles that we need to overcome

India is one of the youngest nations with highest youth population. It is also evolving rapidly, both socially and economically. And to keep pace with the progress and to harness the power of the available asset, i.e., the youth, it becomes even more important to make education available to all strata of the society. For this, we as a nation need to overcome hurdles such as: 

●      Lack of schools and colleges in the rural areas

●      Unavailability of funds to pursue education

●      Gender discrimination

●      Poverty

●      Drop-out rate due to lack of resources or pressure of earning early

●      Inaccessibility to skills training programmes

Role of NGOs in making education accessible

The role of education in society is indeed significant, and that makes the role of NGOs equally critical. NGOs working in this sector strive to bridge the education gap by providing scholarships, connecting donors and beneficiaries for sponsorships, conducting free classes or remedial classes, providing education kits and the like. These NGOs work with grassroot level communities with the objective to enable and empower them through education.

In line with the above-mentioned, one of the best ways to observe Gandhi Jayanti would be to support education of the underprivileged students. And to give shape to this idea, it would be ideal to support NGOs who are working towards it, such as Vidya Chetana, the education vertical of Youth for Seva. This NGO provides scholarships for PUC/Intermediate, Degree, Medical, and Engineering courses to meritorious students hailing from socio-economically challenging backgrounds. Alongside Vidya Chetana also supports beneficiaries to take the right path to achieve their goals and makes them job ready too through its programmes such as:

●      Career counselling

●      Life skills sessions

●      Employability readiness programme

●      21^st century skills development workshops

So, when you donate for education and support higher studies, you actually open a world of opportunities for meritorious and ambitious students.

Your role in making education available

As a part of the society, it is our duty to ensure every student, irrespective of their socio-economic status gets a chance to receive and complete their education. And Vidya Chetana gives you a seamless platform to do so. You can choose the number of students and the stream of studies for whom you would want to donate for education. Once you do so, Vidya Chetana will map it to your selected beneficiaries, thereby enabling them to complete their higher studies. In turn, this NGO will,

·       Send you regular progress updates of the students.

·       Allow you to communicate with the beneficiaries.

·       Issue donation receipt and tax exemption certificate for your donated amount.

So, this Gandhi Jayanti empower the nation’s asset, the youth, by supporting Vidya Chetana. Donate for education to make higher education and skills training available for those who deserve it, but cannot afford it.

Author Profile: 

Vidya Chetana Scholarship Program is an initiative of Youth for Seva to support higher education of socio-economically underprivileged students. Your support will help students wanting to pursue PUC (Intermediate), Degree, Engineering, and Medical Courses. Your contribution towards the Scholarship Program will help students continue their education as well as qualify you to receive tax exemption on your donated amount (₹500 & above).