“In this 21st century, if we do not provide our children with education, then we as a society are tying our hands behind our back, handicapping ourselves,” said Shashi Tharoor, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations on Sunday.

Addressing a small gathering at a function organised by the Parikrama Centre of Learning, Mr. Tharoor, after his interaction with the children at the centre, said: “One wants to be an oncologist, another a CBI inspector. It doesn’t matter if these children become them or not, but the fact that they have the capacity now to fulfil them makes the difference. These children would not even have dreamt of these goals if they had not been provided education.”

On his observations after the interaction, he spoke of how thoroughly impressed he was with the immense confidence the students displayed and said, “The saddest thing about the society is the absence of hope. To instil hope in these times, education that provides self-belief is important.” He said that computer literacy was also crucial to be able to compete in the globalised world.

On Parikrama’s model of education, Mr. Tharoor said that he had seen many programmes dealing with education on an elementary level, but what he found unique about this model was that it was “an inclusive model that involves the education of the child and its family”.

Parikrama has four centres for learning. It provides education to 850 children from 26 slums in the city, said Shukla Bose, CEO of the foundation.