Women Educators Working in Underprivileged Communities

Education is the fundamental right which is often overlooked in underprivileged communities fighting for basic needs like food, clothes and shelter. The development of any country is recognized by the literacy rate and student employment percentage along with other parameters. With the increasing number of students who cannot explore and understand their capabilities, India has faced a considerable loss for its potential future leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, etc. However, to support the dreams of such bright students many stakeholders, educators, philanthropists, and businessmen have put their foot forward for the generous act. Here are the women educators working for the underprivileged communities and providing them with the financial, social and educational assistance they need to help their children pursue their fundamental right to education.

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Radha Goenka

Radha Goenka is amongst the popular educationists working towards bringing quality education especially for the underprivileged. Having completed her studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Goenka noticed that parents prefer sending their children to private schools rather than government schools since private schools focus more on English education. In order to bring the English-medium curriculum to the government schools, Radha Goenka established a program as part of the RPG Foundation where she holds the Directorial position.  After the launch of her NGO last year, Goenka made her position among the top women educators working for the underprivileged community. She strived to develop a unique curriculum that focused on English education with creative thinking and independent learning. The organization has partnered with more than 2,000 government schools and thus managed to help over 2 lakh students across the deprived society.

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Kumari Shibulal

Kumari Shibulal began her organization by offering scholarships to just two students in 1999. She is currently the chairperson and creator of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiatives (SFPI). The organization supports underprivileged children across different fields and levels of education. Through this organization, there are various scholarship programs on offer such as Ankur for school kids, Edumentum for social entrepreneurs, Saathiya for hospitality aspirants, etc. Amongst the major women educators working for the underprivileged, she also organizes a flagship program designed for students to pursue their academic studies after they have completed their school. The scholarship is for students who have scored 95% in class 10th and come from families with a yearly income of less than Rs 2 lakh. The organization helped students shift to a positive life and has successfully supported more than 17,000 students and created 230 doctors and 940 engineers in the past 2 decades.

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Ashwini Doddalingappanavar

Ashwini Doddalingappanavar is a courageous lady who supported children despite her parents wanting to marry her. Hailing from a village in Kuballi, Karnataka, she bravely approached the Deshpande Foundation and worked on her computer skills, English Language, and soft skills. Currently, Doddalingappanavar is Meghshala Trust’s Implementation Associate and has been regularly visiting government schools to work with teachers and train them to take online classes. Featuring in our list of women educators working for the underprivileged, the COVID-19 outbreak didn’t stop her from providing her support through online platforms.

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Uma Pathak

A former teacher, Uma Pathak was inspired by her father to work in the field of education. She used to teach in Aligarh for free and then started the SPS Foundation in 2018. Apart from educating students about hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition, Uma Pathak also took an initiative for several renovation projects to upgrade and elaborate government schools and colleges to impart quality education. As she found that parents are reluctant to send their daughters to cities for higher studies, she started working on improving educational facilities in villages. Amongst the popular women educators working for the underprivileged, Uma Pathak is also relentlessly working during the pandemic by providing underserved areas in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Aligarh, and Chennai and has been providing people with masks, sanitizers as well as gloves. Her organization is backed by her brother and Paytm Founder Vijay Sharma.

Amudhavalli Ranganathan

The daughter of the famous entrepreneur CK Ranganathan, Amudhavalli Ranganathan is using her privilege to acknowledge and provide quality education for children. To execute her motive, she founded Canopo International, a pre-school which has been further renamed as CK Wonder Kidz in 2014. Amudhavalli Ranganathan also works with the CK Group of Educational Institutions, including a matriculation school and CBSE schools. In the present pandemic situation, Ranganatham conducted classes through the local channels on TV and even ensured that children in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu get online access to classes. Her continuous and relentless efforts deserve a key mention in our list of women educators working for the underprivileged. She also initiated mental healthcare where parents are in contact with counsellors via phone and other communication facilities while students can attend webinars. Currently, Amudhavalli is leading the CK Group of Educational Institutions incorporating the recently introduced New Education Policy in the country..

Hence, these are the popular women educators working for the underprivileged and providing free access to education in government schools and scholarships. Inspired by these women? Do you want to pursue a degree in social work or social entrepreneurship? Our Leverage Edu experts are here to guide you in selecting the right course and university! Sign up for a free session with us now!