Outlook India’s recent article titled “Teaching for India” gives following statistics:

• The average literacy rate hovers around 60% in India (for women, the number is much lower)
• World Bank statistics show that fewer than 40% of adolescents in India attend secondary school.
• According to a recent study, 15 out of every 100 Indian kids will never go to school. And among the 85 kids who do, 50% of them will drop out before the 5th grade.

The Outlook article characterizes this as an educational crisis, where almost 40% of the population is under 15 years of age, these trends are troubling, and can prove disastrous over the long-term if they are left unchecked. The article notes that this educational crisis is exacerbated by severe gender and caste disparities and can impede India’s ambition of Global power.

As Hillary Clinton challenged, the educated youth can volunteer to help spread the literacy in India. Recently launched Teach for India which is modeled after successful Teach for America program will place outstanding college graduates and young professionals as teachers in India’s low-income schools for two years. The aim is to narrow the educational gap and expand the educational opportunities available to thousands of underprivileged children. This is exciting because Gen YRI can take a leadership role in solving one of the major stumbling block India is facing in its march towards prosperity.

for more read Young And Restless India