Community “Since independence in 1947, India has achieved remarkable economic and technological progress” (Misra, 2006). India is a rapidly growing country that contains “about 16% of the world’s total population” (Misra, 2006). Though India’s population is large, the rural community dominates their population. According to Misra (2006), the “rural community represents 72% of the total households in India,” and within these rural areas “only 59.21% of the citizens were literate, while urban areas displayed a literacy rate of 80.06%.” This gap between the urban and rural areas is “attributed to appalling poverty in rural areas” (Misra, 2006). |  A view of rural India. Image retrieved from http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/20100709-rural-india.jpg |
Rural vs. Urban Schools
Sineen N. Qureshi (2012) explains the differences between rural and urban school in India in his "Review of Rural Education in India." The points from his article are detailed below:
-
There are many schools in cities and towns whereas; there are very few schools in villages and the rural areas.
-
There are transportation facilities like bus pick and in urban schools where as children in rural areas have to walk miles to reach their schools.
-
Basic amenities like no drinking water is provided in some of the schools in villages.
-
Level of education in urban schools is far advanced as compared to the basic level taught in rural schools.
-
Computer education is given high importance in urban areas whereas very few schools in village give computer training.
-
Group classes are taken using video conferencing and audio conferencing in urban schools whereas no such facilities are provided for the students in rural schools.
-
The teachers are given tools like laptops and printers to provide notes and other important notices to the children in urban schools, while there are no such tools in the rural schools.
-
School infrastructure in case of cities and urban areas is much more advanced as compared to that in schools in rural areas where some times children are even made to sit on the floor due to non-availability of furniture.
-
School education in urban areas is more advanced especially since there is a lot of computer aided teaching.
 Shri Ram School in urban India. Image retrieved from http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/2009/11/460c64b4-421e-4f08-8c1f-37a7b5666167HiRes.JPG |  A rural school in India. Image retrieved from http://www.dinodia.com/photos/SOA-126108.jpg |
