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“If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him.”
Swami Vivekananda
Today, we live in a world where building a career amidst cut-throat competition is considered to be the ultimate achievement. In such times, coming across a person who lives by the words of Sage, Philosopher, and Educationist Swami Vivekananda is a rarity. But this is exactly what Dr. Shradha Vasisht has done. Dr. Vasisht is a hardworking and self-motivated woman who has realized the true power and potential of education. Backed by her belief in the words “when we educate one person, we change a life. When we educate many, we change the world”, she single-handedly launched Sabkishiksha - a socio-educational initiative that is aimed at spreading awareness about new and available educational opportunities among Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG).
Her Journey
Like any college student of Delhi University, Dr. Vasisht had big ambitions and aspirations of her own. Being a dedicated student; she studied and excelled at academics and earned an MA (Sociology) degree from Delhi School of Economics, M.Ed, MPhil, and P.hD from Jamia Millia Islamia University. Thereafter, she completed her B.EI.Ed from Gargi College (University of Delhi) also managed to crack the UGC-NET-JRF Examination.
Her Inspiration
Due to her academic brilliance, she also received many lucrative job offers, but that is not the path that she had carved out for herself. As part of her academic pursuits, she had also associated with an NGO and traveled across the country. It was during her travels to rural, Naxalite, and semi-urban areas that she witnessed the difference between Bharat and India. The stark reality of how urban kids were spoilt for choice, while students in rural areas were struggling to get basic details and information about education opportunities left her shocked. This stark difference in accessibility, reach and awareness about education, convinced Dr. Shradha Vasisht to make “Equal Education for All” her Life’s Motto and she launched Sabkishiksha - a socio-educational initiative.
Her Struggles
But launching an educational awareness programme, that aims to not only bridge the physical barriers and address the unavailability of information but also challenges traditional social norms was not an easy task. Add to that the pressure of being a woman who is trying to advocate ‘Education for All’, especially for girl students, in rural and Naxal areas, it was a significant challenge.
During the initial phases of Sabkishiksha, Dr. Vashishtfaced a lot of resistance. Even her well-wishers felt that the challenge was too big for a single person to address and some even advised her to leave it to the government to ensure education for all. On the other hand, in areas where she was trying to spread awareness about educational opportunities, she could see social and traditional boundaries coming in her way, especially while advocating Education for Girl Students.
Her Initiative
Despite these challenges, Dr. Vasisht pushed on and launched Sabkishiksha – a digital community to share information about educational opportunities and options available to the students, especially for those belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Groups (DG), including SC, ST & OBC-NCL Category. She started creating digital content and videos on YouTube under Sabkishiksha Channel.
Click Here to Reach Sabkishiksha YouTube Channel
The information provided on Sabkishiksha covered Admission Updates about Govt Schools like Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sarvodaya School, Schools of Specialised Excellence, Sainik Schools, and Navodaya Vidyalaya. On similar lines, Sabkishiksha helped students from Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Group (DG) to get admission to premier private schools and also helped them avail benefits of RTE including no school fee, free uniform, free books, and free stationery. In addition to these, Sabkishiksha also provides informative content on various Government schemes such as Ladli Scheme under which govt provides financial support to girl students for their education.
Her Achievements
Since its inception in 2018, Sabkishiksha has grown in stature and reach. From being shunned by her own well-wishers to being appreciated by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia; the initiative has earned a place in the hearts of 2,25,000 families in rural and semi-urban areas by helping them find the right sources to get educated and build a better tomorrow. With 1300+ videos that have garnered over 160 million views, Sabkishiksha has received the YouTube silver play button and has been praised by many, and has earned the badge of being a Section 8 Non-Profit organization (NPO).
Dr. Shradha Vasisht’s efforts have also been acknowledged by several organizations and she has received the following awards and honours in the last year.
- 'Women of the Future Award 2021'.
- 'LinkedIn Person of the year 2020' by CONTRACTSANDFREELANCE
- 'Most Influential Educationist Award' by National Excellence Awards.
- 'Women Achiever' by Akashwani with a 50-minute long interview
Dr. Shradha Vasisht is a finalist for Best Initiative (For Grassroots Service) Because…despite the opportunity to build a lucrative career for herself, she decided to take up the cause of ‘Education for All’ and established Sabkishiksha - a socio-educational initiative, to enable students from rural and poor backgrounds to get quality education and be part of India’s success story.
To Reach the Information Dossier Shared by Dr Shradha Vasisht Click Here.