Intersection of Education and Inclusivity Can Change Perceptions Towards Poverty

“Society nurtures us with abundant resources. Hence, it becomes our duty to return it back, by many folds. That is the only way to uplift and empower individuals.” In an interview with Keekli Intern Sangeeta Sambhi, she found, that with an optimistic vision, a practically functional NGO, and robust policy making ideals, Dr Raj Kumar Singh, aims to see India as a poverty free nation.

Dr Raj Kumar Singh, is a faculty member of Marketing and Economics, Department of Management, University School of Business, Chandigarh University. His key interest lies in delivering lectures on Economic Development and Socio-Economic Development. Not only this, his diversity and keenness towards education, makes him determined, to teach subjects of management as well, i.e., digital marketing. Wearing multiple hats, he also happens to be a social activist, running an NGO, which works, in as diversified field, as he himself is. The NGO contributes its bit, in the field of promoting the importance of education, women empowerment, share and care programmes, child care and most importantly, poverty alleviation. His NGO, does not stop at working on issues of social schemes, it also works in the field of environmental recovery, i.e., tree plantation drives. The highlight of the NGO’s achievements, being, its active operation, in fifteen plus states, pan India.

Keekli: What is your vision for the country?

Dr Raj Kumar: As a responsible citizen and erudite professor, I, along with my team, believe in educating people on the importance of being literate, and for making people aware of the rich culture and heritage of India. Integrating the various elements that forms our society, also happens to be a part of our vision. An NGO, Manav Utthan Society (MUS), was established back in 2015 to bring about a change in the society and contribute our bit for the same.

Keekli: How do you perceive the idea of poverty?

Dr: Poverty is a state of livelihood, wherein a person is not able to pay for his/her basic necessities in life. But when thought of, from a spiritual aspect, I believe that poverty can also be a mental stigma. Elaborating it further, if a person is well-off in his life, but he/she does not have the will to contribute to the society or has ill-motives towards the humanity, as a whole, that person can also be considered as poor idealistically. Poverty is not an economics or finance related concept; it is a concept related to the thought process as well.

Keekli: On which projects have you worked so far?

Dr: Through our NGO we have worked on diverse fields to alleviate poverty, promote the importance of education, child care, women empowerment and conserving of the natural resources. One of the main projects that our team is working on is promoting awareness regarding the importance of education – ‘Aao chalen school’ (Let’s go to school). Under this, we basically identify the children from slum areas. At first, we educate their parents, after that, we start educating the children. We organise events for 15-20 days; the workshop works on a story-based mechanism. We also try to motivate the children to be literate and help their parents lead a life of quality.

Our second main project is the conservation of natural resources with frequent plantation drives. Herbal garden programmes are conducted where people willingly plant medicinal plants, which are later cultivated for personal use.

Keekli: How was this project conceived and what was the basic framework to prepare the project? What drew you to it?

Dr: The team has been distributed into segment. If one team looks after the location of the event, the other one drafts the details. Based on this, resources are collected and information disseminated among the public. We ensure gender equality in the work field, both male and female employees are engaged according to their specialisation. In the advisory team, we have individuals from various fields such as doctors, engineers, professors, psychologists. Psychologists play an important role as they analyse the reasons behind the gap in the perceptions of people and take appropriate measures.

Keekli: What force motivated you to start the project?

Dr: Reasons were many. I come from a rural background where there was lack of proper educational facilities. The thread that binds the society together can be the motivational force. There were times where we had doubts if we might generate support, but nonetheless we are ever thankful for the unconditional support and belief the society has showered us with. With the support received it has become our moral duty to revert by many folds to the society.

Keekli: How do you think you contribute your bit in the field of poverty alleviation?

Dr: We have lately been working on skill development programmes. A number of courses have been launched free of cost. The panorama of topics being; digital marketing and social media marketing. We are even motivating people, who are working as labourers now, to aspire to be educated and a lead a life of quality by working in the field of IT, sales and management. If they educate today, they can avail the opportunity to upgrade their standard of living tomorrow. Their entire thought process and family’s cycle will change. We have conducted 1000 + events based on the same programme, and the response has been overwhelming.

Keekli: Do you think the policies framed by the government serve the purpose for target population?

Dr: Yes, I believe so. We as citizens expect too much from the government. The government’s role is of formulating the policies however its implication is totally dependent on us. We need to take decisions and know about the information published by the government under various policies. For example, the kisan credit card scheme allows loan allotment at 7% and provides subsidy at 3%. Even after government agents along with banks spread awareness about the schemes, farmers still refrain from opting for it. They remain in debt and do not reap the benefits of paying only 4% interest on the loan.

Keekli: Any policy measures you would like to suggest for better results?

Dr: I would like to make amendments in the reservation system of India. If the benefits are provided to a family for once, that particular family becomes capable of carrying forward the benefits through education. But in India, most of the times we see that even after being potent to upgrade the standard of living most of the households prefer taking up the reservation criteria, for generations altogether. The share of many people is pooled in by few. That is one area where I feel that the government can take constructive measures to ensure equal distribution of opportunities.

Keekli: What are your views on RTE (Right to Education)?

Dr: This particular programme is very important from social relevance. We are also working on the same project. Government authorities and teachers conduct meaningful programmes, wherein a teenager who drops out of school, at an early age, is aided with financial support to complete his/her education. They are taught for three months and Bachelors of Science in Accounts (BSA), further provides them with a certificate. Empowered with these certificates, the children are motivated to enrol themselves in further classes.

Second, before providing the public with benefits, the government must make things accountable. Incidents have taken place, where we see that children use this scheme not to upgrade their skills but to take the benefits of the mid-day meals, a sad reality.

Keekli: Whom do you look up to while providing this selfless service? Is there some personality that influenced you to work on the issues of social relevance?

Dr: Being a follower and an avid reader of philosophy, I believe in the ideals of Aristotle. He stated, “Family is the first school of every child.” Other than that Socrates has given valuable opinions upon the same topic. Philanthropists like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Subhash Chandra Bose are inspirational sources too. Other than that, everyone has a social personality to learn from.

Keekli: As a professor how do you think education can contribute towards poverty alleviation?

Dr: Education proves to be a weapon to fight against poverty. Once we are educated, we have dynamism of scopes, open for our betterment. When we are educated, we think; when we think, we take an action; and when we take action, we are able to earn a livelihood that invariably helps in improving the standard of living. When we are happy, we are more inclined towards sharing resources with those in need, which ultimately helps us to alleviate poverty.

Keekli: Anything our readers can learn from your experiences?

Dr: Yes, it would be great to see a nation where every citizen proves to be a helping hand for the other, and also to reside in a nation where citizens volunteer for mutual development. We have observed, that after conducting 200+ programmes, individuals from various professions, volunteer to contribute their bit to the society. On being asked, they state that they have become aware of the needs of the society and would work to uplift it in the best possible ways after connecting with our NGO. I request people to understand that when we are a part of the society, we are the only ones responsible to make it better. If we will make the society better, we will be better off, naturally. 

Keekli: How do you identify the educational needs, values of students and community at large?

Dr:  India is a country of immense potential. But sometimes, a pattern of emotional immaturity is noticed. It is my vision to make students to be aware of their rational decisions and contribute to the survival of the future generations as well. Whatsoever resources we have today, need to be conserved for the future generations too. If we take the example of water, washing your face with 2-3 litres of water would not solve the purpose, it is clear wasteage of the resource. It will also reduce the per capita availability of the resources, along with running their purity.

Keekli: What role do parents play in teaching their children about an inclusive society?

Dr: One good point that I like about the contemporary times functioning style is that the number of children per family have reduced. Hence, the availability of resources per family is also more organised. But the question of concern that arises is that what sort of resources are put to a child’s disposal. How children are engaged in different activities needs to be constantly monitored. Everything is important, but it also comes with the consequence of time limits. Age and time, play the role of important factor inputs when it comes to parents teaching their children about inclusivity.

Keekli: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of India as a poverty free nation?

Dr: I am optimistic about seeing India as a poverty free nation one day. Schemes like skill development, play a very important role in it. When we analyse the educational capacity of India, in retrospect, only 23 colleges were functional at the time of Independence. But when we compare to the capacity of the contemporary times, we see more than 1,000 colleges represent different genres. Huge number of autonomous colleges have also been established. Also, India is a country, enriched with human resource demographic dividend, when explained from economics viewpoint. We have individuals from diverse genres, like doctors, bureaucrats and activist, spending day and night, in terms of serving the population in one or the other way, and therefore, with high intellectual power and education, as a weapon, I believe that India is all set to see good days of being an anti-poverty nation.