|
Profiles in Courage and Leadership
IITKGP alum Varun Shrivastava (2009/B.Tech/Instrumentation Engineering) is an Indian social reformer focused on children’s education. Shrivastava received IITKGP’s 2020 “Young Alumni Achiever Award" for his significant contributions to Indian society. While working full time as a Manager at NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) an Indian Central Public Sector Undertaking, Varun has been involved in founding multiple nonprofit initiatives in India. In 2010, Varun founded an NGO called UPAY (Underprivileged Advancement by Youth) for the upliftment of underprivileged students. In 2015, he pioneered the concept of “footpathshala” through this organization. It is an open school that runs on footpaths and provides basic education to street children. Footpathshala operates in multiple cities around India and has served hundreds of poor children to get a basic education.
According to the UPAY website, their vision is based on the idea that “Every child, no matter rich or poor, from the street or Bungalow must have the Right to Childhood & Right to Education!“ UPAY and Varun assert that “Today, in India, almost 1 in 4 people are below the age of 14. It is a crucial position to be in and the steps taken from here will determine the future of India’s education. However, the truth is far from reality. More than 50% of students in Grade 5 cannot read a Grade 2 text or solve a simple subtraction problem. Only 16% of children in Class 1 can read the text at the prescribed level, while almost 40% cannot even recognize letters. More than a quarter of Class 1 students in government schools are only 4 or 5 years old, younger than the recommended age. These younger children struggle more than others in all skills. At the same time, 36% in Class 1 are older than India’s Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009) - mandated age of 6.“
Times of India has referred to Varun as a Big Brother to street kids. Lokmat Samachar and other social media groups have cited him as a top 10 ordinary Indian doing extraordinary things. He has inspired youth from different backgrounds including doctors, engineers, college students, and teachers to take up the street children's cause under the motto of "Reach & Teach" underprivileged children.
|
The IITKGP Foundation