The fast-paced world that we live in demands skilled labor in order to grow and develop further. Employers seek skilled professionals while hiring, they want people to be adept at their jobs quickly.
Hence, skill development is one of the most significant characteristics a person should focus on to earn better. Today’s youth needs that to succeed and live a satisfactory life. All of this starts with the concept of quality in learning and education.
The Close Relation of Learning and Earning
The process of learning new things is always rewarding for an individual on a personal level. But people fail to realize how rewarding it is on a professional level as well. Degrees and prestigious institute names look enticing on a resume or CV, but realizing that learning is not classroom-restricted and there are qualities beyond what an education degree guarantees that an employer looks for is equally important.
The world of work seeks individuals who are knowledgeable and skill-oriented, they look for soft skills as much as they do for hard skills, and a quality education would push an individual to develop both. Ensuring quality learning will surely amount to better earnings.
The world is full of things for us to learn. With every step, we learn something new. A person first gets to know something, then becomes curious and gains knowledge, or learns a new skill, after which they hone the skill and expand their knowledge in attempts of getting better at it.
A person will only prove to be useful if they can utilize their skills and knowledge in an effective way, and the more “learned” and “practiced” a person is, the more they’ll be able to utilize it effectively in order to maximize profits. This culminates in a better-earning potential. Hence, in order to earn, one must first learn.
The Prowess of Quality in Education
The importance of education is reflected by the jobless economic growth India has been facing for the past few years. The country has seen disproportionate growth in terms of GDP and employment generation. The economic growth is focused on a small portion of the country with the rest being deprived of the same due to the impediments created by poverty stemming from the unequal distribution of wealth across the nation.
Quality is of great importance when it comes to education. Quality education ensures a holistic learning environment and learning in all spheres, be it rote or practical, vocational or professional. It provides equitable and standard education and promotes a person’s willingness to learn throughout their lifetime.
Educational equity is another thing that should be concentrated upon. Every person has the right to quench their curiosity and learn more. The sheer amount of learning poverty that India faces is highly concerning, and what’s worse is that the pandemic has widened this humungous gap. About 50% of Indian children fail to acquire basic education.
Investment in quality education will eventually reap profits for the nation. A well-educated and more confident population will result in them incurring higher incomes which will boost the economic growth of the country. Overall, quality education is something that is necessary in order for youth and the country to flourish as a whole.
Poverty as a Determinant for Level of Quality?
There is a stark difference between the accessibility of education and the accessibility of quality education. A large part of the Indian demographic resides in rural areas, and India has made progress in providing education in these parts as well, but what the country must realize is that the quality of education the low-income demographic receives is widely different from the quality of education the higher-income strata does, and this makes all the difference.
We have often seen a dislike shimmer in the urban or high-income population’s eyes when asked about government-run schools. This is because of the ideology that private schools provide better quality education than government schools.
Quality of education is deemed highly important and rightfully so. An individual is in need of education that caters to rote learning, skill development, and practical knowledge, broadly speaking.
The low-income strata of society deserve the right to quality education as much as anyone else. We need to understand the importance of quality education and work towards achieving that.
Conclusion
Properly trained professors and teachers, a holistic approach to studies, equal focus on rote and practical knowledge, promoting vocational studies, and providing adequate sanitation facilities for girls and boys, all these factors together determine the quality of education a child is receiving. Guarantee of them in educational institutes, urban or rural, is of high importance.
A little more effort toward this will provide oil to the chains of the cycle of learning to earn and provide a better grip for people to confidently paddle towards success. Poverty and education are two major problems in India and are in some ways interdependent. But there is a need for education to not be dependent on the level of income.
Quality in education should be equitable enough, which will also help poverty to be subsided slowly since more people will have access to education and will consequentially earn better.
Smile Foundation and Quality in Education
Smile Foundation follows a lifecycle approach in their work starting from various educational interventions through its flagship programme, Mission Education (ME) like remedial classes, bridge courses for non-school-going children, Anganwadi support, vocational education, and necessary scholarship support to over 1,00,000 children across 23 states of India including 12 aspirational districts.
