Education should encourage critical thinking and make students come out with innovative solutions”- Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, former vice president of India. This thought is echoed in international bodies like UNESCO as it states how quality education includes critical thinking as one of the eight cross-cutting competencies for sustainable development.
According to 2021 data, 65 per cent of the population in India lives in rural areas. Out of this population, around 3.22 crore kids aged 6-17 are out of school. Due to being in rural areas, 65 per cent of the population is regularly overlooked in spheres of development, including education. This arises due to remoteness, lack of accessible infrastructure, unfavourable belief systems among various other reasons.
Building an institute of quality education is an uphill task, and can also be said to be a battle at some places. It often involves numerous individuals due to high resource requirements. Hence, strong community involvement is a factor that can lay the foundation of sustainable education practices.
It is said that children are born with curiosity and desire to learn about the world around them. In relation to education, the United Nations describes the trait of curiosity as ‘the engine of academic achievement’. The guidelines from Government of India’s NIPUN Bharat mission also share this belief and heavily focuses on encouraging curiosity of young learners' with access to experiences that develop their communication skills, problem solving abilities, and understanding of the self.
