We have been grappling with the pandemic for nearly two years, with 2021 proving to be a long year. While the government is trying to take all necessary steps to prevent further damage, the Covid-19 has worsened the fight for rights and education of the girl child in India.
A combination of poverty and the digital divide has widened the already existing gender gap in education in the country. While the official numbers do not look good, here are a few examples of individual and collective efforts that restore our belief in the future of girls’ education in India.
Build A Toilet, Build Her Future
Hindware, a sanitary and bathware brand in India, launched the ‘Build A Toilet, Build Her Future‘ initiative on World Toilet Day on November 19. Conceptualized under the aegis of ‘Hygiene that Empowers’, this campaign aims to empower young school-going girls to reclaim their lost future by providing accessible and hygienic sanitation infrastructure in schools.
To assure ground-level execution, Hindware has partnered with MA.MY Anchor Foundation. Further, Hindware plans to provide 50+ functioning toilets across 19 schools in Haryana to address school dropouts due to a lack of proper infrastructure.
Kitaab Ghar
Musht Sansthan-Hunar ki Pathshala, an NGO based in Madhya Pradesh that works for the upliftment of the Korku Adivasi, focusing on education by teaching in schools in the villages of Khalwa, came up with an innovative solution to the education crisis.
The children of the area, primarily young girls from tribal families, faced a severe backlog in their learning because of the pandemic. Moreover, because it is a tribal area, online education and access to devices are challenging too. Consequently, some children even forgot how to read and write.
In such a situation, Musht Sansthan renovated its centres to form mobile libraries called “Kitaab Ghar”. These mobile libraries, initiated under the initiative of the Community Education Centers, are striving to keep Korku tribal children connected with education during such unpredictable times. These mobile libraries reach other villages as well, catering to children from 6 to 16 years of age. Additionally, regular efforts are made to engage children in other interesting and stimulating activities.
Titan-Nanhi Kali Partnership
Titan Kanya, Titan’s CSR project, aimed at empowering and educating the girl child, was launched almost a decade ago in 2012. It aimed to support girl children hailing from rural and remote places of the country with participation directly by Titan and through support from their employees and business associates.
Working largely out of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, the program has helped over 5000 girls in their education to date. One project under the umbrella of Titan Kanya is Titan’s partnership with Nanhi Kali, run by the KC Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) in collaboration with the Nandi Foundation in Tamil Nadu.
With the Covid-19 pandemic and the shift of education from classrooms to electronic devices, the Titan-Nanhi Kali partnership initiated a new tab-based learning system for kanyas across the state in February early this year. In partnership with EduTech organization Educational Initiatives, every Kanyas/Nanhi Kali was given access to Mindspark’s personalized adaptive learning platform.
With the use of artificial intelligence and ground research, a personalized program was created for each student, and their learning needs personally. As a result, Mindspark helps children improve their reading and listening comprehension, logical thinking, analytical and quantitative skills and is available for Grades I-X and is aligned to all State Board Curriculum.
Sainik Schools
While addressing the nation on August 15, during our 75th Independence Day, acting upon the “messages from lakhs of girls from across the country”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a key announcement of opening Sanik Schools, which would otherwise admit only boys, to girls as well.
Sainik schools are schools run by the Sainik Schools Society, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, which aims to prepare students from an early age to join the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla (Pune), Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, and other Training Academies for officers. The initial experiment of admitting girls in Sainik schools was carried out in Mizoram in 2019. There are currently 33 such schools in the country, and a vision to start 100 Sainik Schools has been announced in the Union Budget 2021-22.
Super-75 Scholarships
During the International Women’s Day celebrations held at Government College for Women, MA Road, Srinagar on March 8, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sarma made some important announcements facilitating the education of girls and women in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the spirit of India’s 75th year of Independence celebrating Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, the Lt Governor announced the launch of the Super-75 scholarship scheme supporting the education of deserving girls belonging to underprivileged families. Four hundred eighty girls from the union territories were selected for degree and diploma courses under the Pragati Scholarship, while nine were selected under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities. The Lt. Governor promised the heralding of a new era for the women of Jammu and Kashmir, especially in terms of education and development.
Let Us Contribute
Such stories, among many others, reinstills hope in our minds about a better future while we continue to live in a troubled present. As we end the year on a positive note, let us also spare a moment to think about ways we can contribute and be a part of this larger campaign that empowers, educates, and prioritizes young girls.