International Literacy Day | Rajshri Deshpande: Education is a vital pillar that is missing from villages

Actress Rajshri Deshpande, who has built four schools in rural areas in the last four years and has been working for the betterment of rural areas for more than ten years, spoke to us on International Literacy Day. She said, “I work for rural areas and neglected areas. In such places, education, groundwater, healthcare and many other essential things are neglected.” She further said, “When I work in a village, I feel that I should provide them with basic necessities. I have provided these facilities to four villages so far. The first school I built was environmentally sensitive.”

The 41-year-old said education is the most “important foundation” that is missing from villages. “They (children in villages) think ‘what will we do after studying?’ and ‘where will we get a job?’ They don’t understand that education does not mean just getting a job, but being aware of everything,” she said.

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The actor feels that most government schools are in a “dilapidated” condition, making it even more difficult for children to go there and study. “They do have government schools but their condition is so bad that no child wants to go there. Children feel that they just have to go to school till Class 10 and then do nothing, there is no point. They need to understand the true importance of literacy. The whole structure should be carefully revised,” Deshpande lamented.

For her school, the importance of subjects is equally divided, be it sports or academics. “Along with other mainstream academics, I also encourage sports, Marathi language, arts and other subjects, so that they study and do something. I recently hired a teacher from my hometown Aurangabad to teach judo there. Schools should have more departments and be more friendly. Development does not mean building four walls or teaching English. You have to teach children every part of literacy as well as different languages ​​and extracurricular activities,” she says firmly.

When asked if being a public figure can be leveraged to raise awareness about literacy, the actor said, “Social media helps in raising awareness, but for me, working at the grassroots level is more important. As a public figure, I can make people aware about literacy, but it is important to work at the grassroots level with parents and children to explain and make them understand the importance of reading.”