The media is stoking language issues around the
Draft Education Policy, but the policy itself has
other glaring problems depriving millions of poor
children from quality education
Sunainas
Call From
SunainasSunainas
The
M
AnY of you might remember
Sunaina rawat, a 14-year-old
girl from mohanlalganj in
uttar Pradesh. While covering
the General elections, 2019,
ndtv’s Prannoy roy landed on Sunaina’s
doorsteps, as if by an act of providence. Sunaina
walked with roy and team through her kachcha
house and barren fi elds and took the audience
through her dreams, struggles and hopes.
She talked about the fi nancial issues at home,
her daily chores of fi lling water and carrying bales
of hay and her challenges of going to school daily.
She then confessed that the reason she’s studying
is because she wants to become a doctor and open
up her own hospital someday.
Sunaina is not the only child who’s dreaming
big. Th ere are millions and millions of Sunaina
and Suresh who have pegged high hopes on
education to bring the desired change in our
society. Yet, year aft er year, our education system
categorically bludgeons these innocent hopes and
butchers the aspirations of these children owing
to its archaic, and moribund structures.
Th e draft national education Policy (neP),
which was put out in the public domain on may
30, has rekindled many such hopes.
Th e deliberations for the new policy started
when a committee under late tSr Subramanian
was tasked with submitting a report. Th e
Subramanian Committee held a large number of
discussions and consultations before submittingThe Draft Education Policy