Empowering Girls through Education

The picture displays a beautiful poem about a “free bird” written by Harshita Joshi studying in Class VIII, KGBV, Kirap Village, Ajmer (Rajasthan). 

It was recently published in her school magazine published by Save the Children to encourage children’s creativity. 

The activity is part of Save the Children's initiative to support 12 KGBVs (Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas - Govt. Residential Schools for girls) in Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Under the project, we are providing special educational support to girls from low caste and tribal backgrounds.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:  

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been set up by the Government with the aim of providing special educational support to girls from low caste and tribal backgrounds. However, these schools often do not provide quality education that the girls deserve and need. 

As KGBV teachers do not currently have the necessary skills or resources to respond to individual learning needs of their diverse students, many girls are excluded from meaningful learning. Beyond the immediate context of the school, there is a larger socio-cultural issue of female disempowerment. 

In light of the significant obstacles that marginalised rural girls face and the disempowerment that they experience, Save the Children worked with KGBV students to make them aware of their rights and entitlements, conducted life skills training to build their confidence, leadership skills and knowledge of positive health and hygiene practices, equipped them to monitor and report on the quality of the services they are provided, and take collective action when needed.

Specific objectives:

• To facilitate increased enrolment and retention of marginalised girl children in schools and KGBVs

• To build the capacity of teachers to cultivate an inclusive and engaging living and learning environment

• To enhance the quality of the physical, social and intellectual learning environment for KGBV students.

The key achievements of the programme are: 

• More than 500 out of school children have been enrolled in KGBVs. 

• Approximately 15,000 people in 45 villages of Ajmer have been sensitized through awareness generation programmes. 

• 540 children in Jharkhand have received computer training.

• MoU has been signed with SSA Rajasthan defining all the activities in the project.

• We have advocated with the State Government of Jharkhand to bring Right to Education as a priority issue on the State Government’s agenda. As a result, Chief Minister of the State has asked the Education department to develop an effective implementation plan in the state with the involvement of civil society organisations. 

• Parents meetings are regularly organized to discuss the students' progress and take suggestions from parents for changes in KGBV .

• Awareness camps on Right to Education Act, motivational camps for out of school children and orientation of SMC were conducted, across 45 villages of Ajmer. 

• Hindi to Hindi and English dictionaries were given to each student in 6 KGBV along with an Atlas for each student.