Bringing Education to the Underprivileged
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Upon independence in 1947, India’s literacy rate was at a staggering low of 11%. Since then, the literacy rate has grown to 74%; however, this figure is still well below the world figure of 84%. The literacy rate is still lower in rural India; while the literacy rate in the urban areas is estimated to be 84%, it is only 68% for the rural population.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation initiates and runs one-teacher schools (known as Ekal Vidyalayas), focusing on remote areas in India often unreachable by road and untouched by electricity. Ekal Vidyalaya seeks to empower the village community for its own self-development through four aspects: functional literacy, health care education, development education, and empowerment education. In 2013, Ekal schools were the only source of education in approximately 20% of the villages in which they operated.
We are privileged to support Ekal’s philosophy inspired by Swami Vivekananda: “If the poor child cannot come to education, education must go to the child.”
Ramesh and Shashi Agarwal
