Education is a powerful tool in a person’s life. It shapes a person and their future. Everyone has the right to it. Under the Right to Education Act (RTE, 2009) it states the importance of free and compulsory education for children of ages 6 to 14. Such bills for education are passed in order to protect vulnerable children from underprivileged families. But the question is, is education enough to alleviate poverty?
According to the United Nations, poverty is defined as the state of denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. Lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. Poverty is a huge hindrance on basic rights such as shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education, etc. An impoverished family has barely enough to feed let alone send their children to school to get a basic education.
It is a given, that children are the heavy bearers of this brunt. Being forced to work menial jobs and subjected to various facets of child labour and exploitation. Children from poor families are a part of a vicious cycle that can be hard to escape. They are less or not prepared to be integrated into a system of education as we know it. It can be tough to cope.
Not just that, many countries (mostly developing) do not have free secondary education, so the cost of tuition, including uniforms, books, etc. can be a huge burden and luxury for such children. Children from such families have to realise their responsibilities, i.e, work towards the welfare of their families from an early age. This causes them to give up hope to secure an education or pursue a dream for themselves.
Scarcity of food is a major problem in poor households. This leads to malnutrition and retarded development mentally and physically. A child with no access to proper nutrition or living conditions can face problems in focusing. Apart from food, stable income is another factor that can be an impediment in a child’s overall development.
A family that generates no stable income cannot sustain the cost of education. In rural areas, after the parents’ leave for work older siblings, (especially girls) are entrusted to take care of the household and the younger siblings. Many other factors such as exposure to toxins, financial resources, health, environmental conditions, and child care, etc. are the main cause of children from such households to not being able to pursue an education.
It is not just education for all, but quality education that is the key tool to eradicate poverty. 21% of the world still lives in poverty and equitable learning can free people from the clutches of poverty. Equitable learning is a way in which all students regardless of their background are treated equally.
Equitable learning paired with expanded access to education can lift the general poor population by a great margin. Through an analysis released by the GEM Report, it states that to reduce the growth of poverty the need to address and overcome inequality is the prime challenge. Parents’ are less likely to pay for the education they do not see the benefits in. However, it is a crucial investment. The impact of education to name are quite a few such as the development of knowledge and skill, improved living standards, and fulfilment of basic necessities, etc. In the current times, corporate jobs are more likely given to individuals who have a higher skill or knowledge on said subject.
A skill that can primarily be learned through school or any other mode of learning. The frame of quality education creates a skilled individual who has a chance of securing better job opportunities. Not just that, through a steady income the living conditions of a person can change drastically. They are able to take care of their health and provide for their family and take care of the fulfilment of basic necessities as well. Education indirectly helps in the accomplishment of the utilization of health facilities, water, sanitation, food, nutrition, thus declining poverty significantly. It also affects women’s reproductive decision making and family planning. Other factors include a decrease in violence and crime, enhancement of communication, etc.
There are many barriers to be broken, many issues to be addressed because what is currently being done or exists in the system is not sufficient enough to sustain the vulnerable people of the society. For such dire conditions, dire actions need to be taken. Larger leaps need to be taken to eradicate poverty step-by-step.
To answer the question is education enough to alleviate poverty? Yes, it is. But it has to be a combined effort of not one but many individuals. The government needs to subsidize education and it’s accessibility among poor families. So, that their children have the right to equally acquire sustainable jobs in the future thus bringing the curve down and bridging the gap between poverty and education. After all, education is a right and every child has the right to it.