How education helps in sustainable development

 

Education as we know is one of the important aspects of humans' life. It not only contributes to the economic growth and development of an individual but also it contributes to improving his quality of social well being as it helps in broadening the mindset of the students. A quality education system is the backbone of sustainable development. Sustainable development refers to the development process that meets the needs of people in present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development is related to the environment but its meaning is broader and wider than we think. It helps the individual to improve his quality of life socially and economically by keeping harmony with the environment. That is the development activities must happen without depleting the natural resources available at the present.

At the social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable development they promote and support the realization of the United Nations sustainable development goal number 4 which aims at providing quality education for every individual. Quality education is a tool that develops a sense of sustainability in society. The United Nations emphasizes the reorientation of the education system so that sustainable development is achieved. 

Education for sustainable development

Education for sustainable development promotes knowledge, skills, values, and actions required for sustainable development. Education for sustainable development also ensures that environmental protection and enhancement. Also, it promotes social equity and encourages environmental stability. The education system should promote education for sustainable development as it enables and encourages individuals to make decisions and carry out actions related to development that do not affect the planet. Education helps to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all levels of the learning process. 

Sustainable development is the outcome of the three pillars of development that needs to be balanced. The three pillars of sustainable development are 

• Social equity

• Economic sustainability

• Environment protection

Education helps in balancing the three pillars of sustainable development by addressing themes such as poverty eradication, citizenship, peace, ethics, and harmony in society. It also helps in promoting the feeling of responsibility towards the world locally and globally.

At the social ripples, their focus is to generate awareness about the inclusion of education for sustainable development in the education system. They advocate the following characteristics of education that helps in achieving sustainable development,

• Share values and actions that are aligned to sustainable development

• Train the students in such a way that they develop skills such as critical thinking and come up with problem-solving solutions in a sustainable way.

• Include various educational methods such as, art, literature, drama, debates, and discussions that illustrate the process.

• Encourage students and allow them to participate in the decision-making process. of designing and content of the educational programs

• Always keep students aware of the local and global issues by addressing them from time to time

• The education system should include project topics such as installing water dispensers in school, water recycling. Also, they should encourage students to use recyclable and reusable water bottles to reduce plastic pollution.

Thus, education for sustainable development can help the students to bring a better future for them. it also promotes the idea and needs for social equity. For achieving education for sustainable development it is important to have continued support from the authorities and educators, and the social ripples, is aiming at taking measures to attain that support. But they also believe that parents should also be educated and trained so that they can support their children to gain quality education as they are an important part of the education system.

10 Ways to Improve the Indian Education System

 

A country is said to be sustainably developed if every individual of the nation is developed. And we all know that education is the only way individuals can develop themselves economically and socially. Education provides learners with a broad and wider way of thinking. It spreads awareness about what all is happening in the world at present. It also provides an opportunity to cope up with the unpredictable global market and skills to develop skills to match every changing technological innovation all around the world. Education also helps the learners to be part of globalization. A good quality education system as a whole is responsible for generating talented and skillful citizens for India. 

It is not that the Indian education system has not undergone any changes. Yes, but there are some areas that it needs to improve itself. At the social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable development, advocates that the United Nations sustainable development goals are a platform for the Indian government to come up with a changed and innovative education system. The present education system of India has various potholes and it is evident that it is affecting the employability of the students. 

Improvement is important for the growth and development of the nation; hence, the following are the 10-ways to improve the Indian education system. 

1. The shift of focus from memory-based learning to skill-based learning

The skills of a person can help him to do great in his career. Shifting to the skill-based education system helps the students to adopt good skills at an early age. Skills can be developed, by knowing the area of interest of every student. Also, it will retain the interest of the student all over the learning process.  

2. Rural education

It is seen that students from rural areas are facing challenges in attaining quality education due to the reasons like schools are out of reach of students, poor infrastructure, education affordability, etc. also educators in rural areas are not well trained which leads to a pause in the student's development. Focusing on rural education and providing trained teachers will help improve the rural education system. 

3. free basic computer skill training

The world is dependent on technology and innovation. Computer learning is the primary step towards the era of information technology. Giving free basic computer training will let the students get at least introduced to technology and innovation.

4. training the educators 

Training the teachers will help to bring uniformity in the teaching pattern of the Indian education system. Also, training teachers will let them know their rights and duties to train the students in such a way that they become innovative and skilled individuals.

5. extending the scholarships for professional courses also 

There are already many scholarship programs run in the country at the school level. But extending the same for the professional courses can help the students to continue with their learning process and not leave their education in between due to financial crisis. 

6. focusing on health education

Health education should be included in the daily learning program of the students so that they should understand the need for good health and know the way to achieve better health all over their life.

7. e-libraries

It is a new concept that allows access to free books for every student. So that book availability should not be the barrier for the students in need.

8. smart classes

Smart classes are the concept that ensures every student understands the concepts taught in the session effectively. The class can be changed into the smart one by adding the audio-video devices, multimedia concepts, and other necessary IT elements.

9. emphasizing sports compulsion

It will help the students to be intact in the education system. And know their skills and areas of interest.

10. parents education

The education of parents is also vital. It will help the parents understand their child's area of interest rather than forcing them to choose the type of career they want. It will also reduce the gap of thinking between parents and students generation.

The education system helps the nation to mark its impression all over the world. It is the mirror of the nation's development.

FACTORS INFLUENCING NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF EDUCATION.

Education, as we know, is the backbone of the economic growth and development of a nation. Education helps in achieving a sustainable life by improving the quality of social and economic well-being. Gaining the right education helps an individual in improving the thinking and broaden the mind to become tolerant of society. The global market and technology are changing day by day. Education helps the students to cope up with the ever-changing market by coming up with innovative ideas. Good quality and well-settled education system help in evolving the innovative students every day. At the social ripples, that is an initiative towards sustainable social development, focuses on generating awareness about the importance of seeking knowledge and promotes the importance and features of national systems of education. 

We all are aware of the fact that youths are the future of the nation. Their education is considered to be the mirror of the nation. Educational system and institutions play important role in structuring the quality of education which is provided to the students.

What is a national system of education?

The concept of the national system of education refers to the education system that considers national aspirations and needs when it is structured. Every nation is different from others, and its development is aligned with various aspects and factors. Hence, it needs a different education system to be followed. 

Every developing nation aspires to create its own identity all around the world. Hence, it needs a strong national system of education that promotes its image in front of the world. The following are the various factors that influencing the national systems of education. 

1. Geographical factor -

It is the most important factor that affects the education system. Naturally, human beings are going to behave according to the geographical circumstances that an individual is facing in his life. In the case of the education system, the geographic factors that influence the system are as follows:

• Climatic conditions

• Population distribution 

• Aland configuration

The other factors of the education system under the geographic area are a type of building, means, and methods of transportation, school-going age of pupils, etc.

2. Economic factors -

Along with the content and method of the education system, the economic factor also influences the national systems of education. Economic factor plays a major role in determining the content and method of the education system. It considers how much the nation can allocate to the education of students. Also, it considers the economic conditions of the individual who are ready to spend on education. If the economic condition of the nation is poor, then they need to find ways to cope up with the economic problems. 

3. The social and cultural factors -

The education system is the mirror reflection of the social culture of the nation. Human beings have an emotional bonding with their culture and hence they will get educated in the way their culture allows them. They will always strive to protect and enhance their traditions through education. It is also important to understand that education is the fundamental right of every individual and should be given equal opportunity to achieve it.

4. The historical factor -

Every country has its history. The history of the nation shapes the nation's aims, aspirations, activities, and destiny. The historical stories are responsible factors behind the education system of the nation.

5. Political factor -

The administration of an education system of the nation is dictated by the political background of the country. They decide the features and functioning of the education system. A nation should promote nationalism and socialism through its education system. Hence the political aspect of the nation should aspire to improve the feeling of nationalism in every student. 

6. Language factor -

Every nation is known for its national language. It is an inseparable part of the country’s face in front of other countries. In some countries like India, many languages are spoken, but only one language is called the national language. The governments try to foster their national language and take their heritage forward. But as globalization has taken over, it is important to include a foreign language in the education system so that it is easy for the students to communicate with people in other countries.

At the social ripples, they take care that various measures are taken to promote the importance of education, and quality education is achieved by the students of the nation.

Why gender equality is important ?

 

Today we are a part of the 21st century where it, is seen a lot of development and social and economic standards of the people. A lot of societal norms and traditions are seen to be changed, and society has become liberal than ever. The age-old and orthodox norms followed by society have somewhere come to an end. Various discriminative barriers, such as geopolitical and other social barriers, are on the verge of extinction.  The 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations focus on creating a sustainable society that is loved by all. At the social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable social development and is inspired by the united nations' sustainable development goals, they believe that gender equality is one of the important aspects of creating a sustainable and inclusive society that is equally loved by everyone that coexist.

Gender equality refers to the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision making and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs regardless of gender. But sadly, despite all the liberties and development in the norms of society, it is seen that one sex is given more importance than the other and the other one is looked down upon for no reason. Dr. Lopamudra Priyadarshini, who is on her mission towards sustainable social development, advocates the fact that gender inequality leads to disturbance in the development of the nation affecting the peace and harmony of society in which we all live.  

Importance of gender equality

The importance of gender equality can be explained, in various areas of society. The following points help us understand the importance of gender equality.

Gender equality promotes better productivity. 

If it is the scenario in the workplace that one gender, is given importance than the other one. Or the decision of an employee is overlooked based on his gender then, he might not be happy leading to less productivity, in the work, and results in the loss of the company and in-turn impacts the economy of the country.

Gender equality results in improved life of women

In many countries like Afghanistan, it is seen, that women are facing hilarious outcomes of gender inequality. They are living a pitiful life. This horrifying situation of the women in Afghanistan is said to be their culture. In many parts of India, also women are facing problems such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other issues. Some cases are seen, whereas some women feel it is their fate and does not talk about it outside. Gender equality changes this scenario and shifts the idea of a male-dominated society to an inclusive society.

Gender equality is an end to orthodox stereotyping.

In many countries, it is the situation to date that men are the financial supporters of the house, and women are there to look after the household chores. Also, women are looked down on as they are not helping their husbands financially. If the women fail to look after the house or children, they are said to be unmarriageable or useless.

Also, gender equality is an end to the orthodox stereotyping that if a girl is a spinster for a longer age, then there is a problem with a girl. The spinsters are judged by every person in society. Moreover, women are said to be incapable of doing physical work as compared to men.

Gender equality is an end to all the orthodox and traditional discrimination against women and all the genders of society. It promotes that women should be rightly represented in society and the workplace. Gender equality is not the topic to be issued or to be debated, but it is a topic that should be followed in reality.

Top 5 major advantages of gender equality

 Developing countries that are striving to achieve sustainable development should consider gender equality as one of the major measures towards development. Gender equality not only provides the nation's social well being by promoting peace and harmony, but it also accelerates the economic growth and development of the nation. A developing nation needs to provide every individual with equal opportunities to contribute to the nation's growth and development and promote peace and harmony in communities of the nation. Hence, it is an urgent need for the country to promote gender equality as it prevents violence against women and girls, and makes our communities safer and healthier. It is a human right and it is good for the economy.

Gender equality

The term gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibility, and opportunities that are provided, to people of every gender. Gender inequality affects the people of every gender including, women, men, trans, and gender diverse people in the communities. It also impacts the lives of children, and in-turn well-being of the family is dependent on gender equality.

The social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable social development, promote that the vision behind the United Nations sustainable development goal of gender equality is to

• Live in an inclusive environment.

• Have access to power, resources, and opportunities equally.

• Make people feel that they are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness.

The following are the top 5 major advantages of gender equality

1. Gender equality promotes peace

There are millions of women and girls in different communities that every day falls prey to violence and discrimination. Due to this, the peace and harmony of the house are affected. Also, women face sexual abuse and harassment at their home and their workplace, making their life impossible to live. This violence and harassment have a direct impact on their health and mental well-being. Improving gender equality in men and women can reduce the amount of violence, and provides safety for those who are vulnerable.

2. Strengthen communication at the workplace

Gender equality in the workplace is very important. It boosts the success of the company by fostering a positive work environment. Gender equality doesn't mean that both men and women are the same. They are sexually different. The most important difference between men and women is the way they speak and have communication, and women are a powerhouse of creativity. When a woman communicates, she puts forward her ideas skillfully and creatively, which is very important for a business to become success full. And in the case of men, they are good at tackling the confrontation and issues. If gender equality is promoted at the workplace the combination of creative ideas and issues-tackling skills will provide a great work environment.

3. Gender equality accelerates economic growth and development.

When women and girls are given equal opportunities to gain a quality education, they can get good opportunities to find a good job and contribute to their family's economic well-being. Studies say if the diverse genders are given equal opportunities in the workplace the business will be more productive. The productive and united work by both men and women translates into the success of the business and improves the business's profitability. It, in turn, improves the GDP of the nation.

4. It benefits the lives of children.

Believe or not, children are the ones who are affected by the peace and harmony in society. Along with it, it is seen that when children are born, women choose to sit at home, losing their job so that they can take care of children. If men and women work and get paid equally, they can contribute to the children's welfare by equally participating in their education, nutrition, and healthcare. Research also says that when women, are given a quality education, the infant mortality rate can also be decreased.

5. Gender equality gives everyone equal opportunities

Education plays a vital role in promoting opportunities for everyone regardless of gender. In today's world, more boys are educated, than those girls. It is seen, most of the girls are not given quality education and are forced, to get married earlier under the name of tradition. Also, most of the girls fall prey to human trafficking because of their lower economic capacity. Hence, when gender equality starts with education, everyone has good opportunities to live an improved life.

Gender equality is a process which, cannot be achieved easily. It needs a lot of awareness generation and an individual's active participation to achieve gender equality. The mindset of the people should be changed, as they are emotionally attached to their tradition and old societal norms. It leads them to live a socially and economically backward life. The best way to promote gender equality and to reduce its effect on society's growth and development is to start from home.

7 effective ways to empower women and girls

 We think we are living in a developed and socially strong society. But the real fact is the society is still facing social stratification. It refers, to discrimination of people according to socioeconomic norms such as age, caste, gender, religion, economic well-being, etc. to live in an inclusive and sustainable society the challenges related to sexual and social stratification should be overcome by us. Women empowerment and child development is the challenge to the sexual discrimination done against women in a society that is at their home and their workplace. At the social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable social development, they believe and promote that women empowerment and child development is the economic, political, and socio-cultural process that supports the women in such a way that their quality of life is increased effectively.  

What are women's and girls' empowerment?

It is an unfortunate thing that there are assumptions that women differ from men in social positions. It has led to unequal and asymmetric power relations between men and women. women empowerment and child development refer to the process of increasing women’s access and control over the strategic life choices that will help them identify their skills and lead an independent life. 

The following are 7 effective ways to empower women and girls

1. Start from your home

If you are willing to change society for its betterment, don’t wait for the government or organization to come over and make changes in the living style of the people. You can start right from your home. There will be women around you at your home and your workplace start empowering them by simply saying that you understand them and also you care for them. This will give them the power to live a life with confidence and dignity.  

2. Put forward your helping hand for new moms

Women empowerment and child development promote that helping new moms can also help in women empowerment as it takes care of the women and child’s right health and nutrition. The first two years of a child after he is born are very crucial. They need the utmost care and affection to be raised effectively. providing them with the essential and good healthcare products to the needy moms can help in bringing up good health and nutrition of the mother and child. You can simply gift them, cloth diapers, blankets, a container of clean water and soaps, etc.

3. Generating awareness about the importance of education for girls

It is seen that most of the girls are forced for early marriage and kept out of school every year. There is a need to generate awareness and spread the fact that if the girls are given quality primary and secondary education, they would be able to get financially independent, will marry at the right age and will be blessed with a beautiful and healthy life.

4. Participate in empowering women who are a small business owner

You may have noticed many hardworking women are doing a small business to support their family and wish that their skills get the right opportunity and acknowledgment in society. To empower them and give them confidence will help you fulfill their dream by connecting with them or invest in their business.

5. Help girls close to your home

Women's and girls' empowerment needs a small push from your side. Girls are seen to be underrepresented in society. This makes them lose their confidence. Help from your side by mentoring them will help them to regain confidence in their life.

6. Support girls and women in crisis

There are millions of girls and women today also who are facing problems such as abuse, violence, trafficking, labor, and child marriage, etc. A small training, education, and mentoring, counseling, and medical care can help them to get free from these challenges in society.

7. Help women by providing clean water

Having a clean glass of water is the basic need for human's life. Women are often seen to be excluded from the allocation of water resources. It leads them to face many health problems. Providing them with clean water helps them establish better sanitation facilities also.  

At the social ripples, Dr. Lopamudra Priyadarshini, with her mission towards sustainable social development supports the fact that there is a movement among society about women empowerment by government, women empowerment, and child development are totally in the hands of an individual. Women should be encouraged to take care of and respect her.  Then and then only there will be a change seen in her family and later in society.

Schemes for upliftment of women and child welfare

 We are heading towards a mission of bringing an inclusive society. It enables the path of sustainable economic and social development of the nation and promotes peace and harmony within society that we all coexist. For that awareness and schemes are needed to be generated for creating a progressive environment that broadens the mindset of the people. Women and child development are one of the major focus areas of creating a progressive, as well as an inclusive society. It can be achieved by giving attention, rights, and privileges to women and children by every individual in society. The social ripples, which is an initiative towards sustainable development promotes that the United Nations sustainable development goal 5- gender equality and sustainable development goal 8- decent work and economic growth strongly supports women and child development. They also advocate that schemes related to the upliftment of the women and child welfare should be applied on a war footing level.  

Importance of women and child development

The development of a nation refers to the development of every individual living in that nation. Most of the Indian population is comprised of women and children. Hence, they become the core pillars of national development, and it is necessary to consider their development when we think of national development. Achieving women and child development will help us to open the doors of sustainable development not only for the present generations but also for future generations. 

In most parts of our country, many of the women and children are seen as unprivileged from their fundamental rights of education and good nutrition. Moreover, they are facing problems such as violence and harassment. Most of the children from the families that are below the poverty line, are forced to do unsafe Labor works and are facing health problems such as malnutrition. Women and children are also seen to be deprived of good health and sanitation.

Schemes for the upliftment of women and child welfare

The ministry of women and child development is of the vision to ‘empower women living with dignity and contributing as equal partners in development in an environment free from violence and discrimination and create well-nurtured children with full opportunities for growth and development in a safe and protective environment.’

This vision promotes the idea that if you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a whole nation.

The women and child development department was set up in the year 1985 and was a full-fledged ministry department from 31st January 2006. The schemes defined and proposed by the ministry were promoted, under the mission statement 'promoting safety, social and economic empowerment of women, care and development of children through cross-cutting policies, programs, and schemes.' 

The schemes developed and promoted were based on the following topics:

1. The national mission on empowerment

2. The integrated child protection scheme

3. Empowerment of adolescent girls

4. Conditional maternity benefits 

5. Implementation of 

• Immortal traffic in women and girl act

• The indecent representation of women

• The dowry prohibition

• The commission of sati

At the social ripples, Dr. Lopamudra Priyadarshini, who is with her mission towards sustainable development, promotes the need for an inclusive society and advocates that it is essential to ensure that women and girls are independent socially, economically, and are politically empowered. It is a sensitive issue and needs joint efforts are needed to achieve the goal of an inclusive society.

what are the major importace of rural development ?

 Mahatma Gandhi always stated the soul of India lives in villages. Rural areas are blessed with several important natural resources. Rural development and empowerment are some of the important areas of the sustainable development process. Sustainable development in rural areas majorly focuses on the growth and development of the people living in a rural area by promoting the measures of effective usage of natural resources. It also includes the protection and enhancement of natural biodiversity. At the social ripples, Dr. Lopamudra Priyadarshini with her mission towards sustainable development advocates that most of the natural diversity that includes agriculture and forestry should be the main focus of rural development and empowerment, whereas other areas of development such as education and good health and well-being sanitation, etc. also should be empowered.

Rural development

Rural development refers to the process of development that emphasizes improving the quality of life of people by providing the ways to live their life sustainably by promoting measures that will help them to have economic stability in their life.

Despite various measures and schemes promoted by government and organizations, it is seen the people living in rural areas and remote areas are far away from civilization. They are still living with the orthodox living standards, and economic life is still below the poverty line. Unemployment in rural areas is a concern for development. Hence, rural development and empowerment need a strategic path of development that accelerates production and productivity, better socio-economic activity, aspiration, balance in social and economic development.

The farmers in the rural areas are still not introduced to the innovative and dynamic methods of agriculture. It is because they are far away from civilization and unaware of newer technologies. The infrastructure of rural areas is not allowing them or making it difficult for them to connect to the latest technology and innovations. Introduction to dynamic, vibrant, and sustainable agriculture can help them to be economically stable. Rural development and empowerment have a maximum emphasis on agriculture as the world's population is increasing, and the need for food is also increasing day by day.

Agricultural activities are dependent on the environment and climate changes. When we are talking about rural development and empowerment, we need to have shifted attention towards various areas of growth and development along with agriculture. The other areas of focus are as follows:

• Public health safety and sanitation measures

• Education 

• Promoting poverty eradication methods 

• Female empowerment and gender diversity

• Employment opportunities

• Encouraging entrepreneurship among small-scale farmers and indigenous people 

• Infrastructure development like irrigation and electricity, etc.

• Promote sustainable forest management

All the above-stated measures will improve the economic well being of the people in rural areas. Affordable or free education is a critical part of rural development. It will promote employability. If education will not be affordable, then children will be forced to do agricultural work and will not have equal opportunities to get employment. At the social ripples, they advocate that rural development and empowerment foster improving quality of life in rural areas covering economic, cultural, social, and political components of development. Along with a complete understanding of rural development, it is equally important to understand that when we are in the process of achieving rural development and empowerment goals, care is needed to be taken that the face of the rural area does not change. Also, measures should be taken by the urban areas to learn to live an environmentally friendly life.