6000 Girl Drop-Outs Return to Government Schools in Rajasthan…
Being a woman herself, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje took concrete steps to uplift the status of women and girl children in the society. Shubhlakshmi, Rajshree, Mukhbir, Aashray and Bhamashah were some examples of Raje’s visionary genius. These women-centric schemes were focused on empowering women with appropriate opportunities, finance and resources so they can break from the vicious chains of patriarchy and achieve new milestones every day.
To accomplish this goal, it was important to educate women. Seeing that 15,000 girls studying in primary and middle classes dropped out of government schools in 2016, Rajasthan government launched the campaign Apna Bachcha Apna Vidyalay (ABAP). The campaign aimed to bring girl children back in school.
The drive was tested in Jhunjhunu last April. Fortunately, we experienced positive outcomes and 6,000 girls were re-enrolled in schools, a fact that attracted praise and encouragement by PM Narendra Modi.
According to district collector Pradeep Kumar Borad, Jhunjhunu enjoys a favourable literacy rate (74.72%) and child sex ratio (950 girls in 1000 boys). Still, the number of girls enrolled in government schools was just 45%. The enrolled students were either drop-outs or previous students of primary schools.
To lure more girls into receiving formal education, the district collectorate organised events and workshops at block, district and village level. Local administrative officers, gram sarpanch and education department officers were involved in this drive.
In 2015-2016, 1, 41,051 girl students were enrolled in 1600 government schools in Rajasthan. In 2016-2017, the enrolment upped to 1, 53,649.
Simultaneously, the government is focused on improving the quality of education with innovative initiatives like—
- Donating toys for toy bank,
- Organising ‘Bal sabha’ every Saturday were children can participate in cultural events and discussions,
- Interactive sessions at public places to promote community involvement,
- Visit to government offices to enhance exposure regarding govt jobs.
On January 26, the government distributed 1.25 lakh school books for classes V to XII. On February 21, they’ve started defence coaching at schools since Jhunjhunu has given maximum no. of soldiers to the country. Moreover, they introduced training classes in 50 schools, where 2,500 students enrolled in classes VI to XII will receive training for professional career.
Government has roped in retired army professionals and government officers to achieve quick results. According to district education officer Om Prakash Mudgal, with the joint efforts of the education and women development departments this campaign is a huge success.
