There is hardly a generation of students who is not taken over by the Pink Floyd song: "We don’t need no education……"

Every generation of student by the time they are in high school or college starts identifying with this song so well as they feel the system is leading them to become just another brick in the wall. No this writer is not suggesting that Pink Floyd spoke nonsense or that what we as students feel is absurd and wrong. This writer has also felt the same as any other student and hummed the song many times. However, at the same time I also feel for those who never get the opportunity to go to school, those who never get the opportunity to receive as much education to identify with the song. Instead of feeling that they are turning into another brick into the wall, they have to carry bricks at an early age. How cruel is life isn’t it?

Living in a developing country like India we don’t have to depend on television and magazine photographs to get the right information regarding the true situation in which the poor children of the poverty stricken people are living in. A stop at the traffic light, construction sites, roadside stalls, a visit to the temple or other religious place or the places the foreign tourist love to stay and visit, one can see poor children running about begging, peddling stuffs , or engaged in child labor. Child labor and begging, peddling things are common sites to be found in India, though it is banned by the government. Probably we are missing it out in the implementation of the child welfare the programs.

A well planned program needs to be charted out to help the poor and the needy people so that they do not send their children to work at an early age instead of sending to schools to complete their education. Whatever be our experiences with education system we could not have grown that capacity to understand the meaning of the song, neither could have hummed that song if we haven’t got the proper education.

Poverty is so cruel that it makes people do things against their wishes. Every parent in the world wants to give their kid the proper education and all the facilities that will ensure a bright future for them. Our parents too have slaved for us, so that we can lead a comfortable life. But fate does not favor everyone alike. There are people who even after hard work are not able to provide a good life for their children. Poverty compels them to withdraw their children from school, not allow their children to go to school. Whatever little their contribution would be to the earning of the family is first thought of. How to make a living takes priority than education. We cannot pass judgment on them for making the choice of ignoring the development of brain to quenching the fire of hunger. It’s a realistic decision.

However this should not be an excuse to ignore the welfare programs needed for helping the poor children. We need to design certain child development and child welfare programs exclusively to help poor children. Educating them should be prioritized as that will enable to call the shots for their life. Education societies need to be set up with the help of charitable organizations.