Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav

On International Women’s Day, that is on 8th March, the government launched a nationwide campaign named Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, has established the Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav Abhiyan. The campaign’s purpose is to reintegrate four lakh out-of-school adolescent girls between the ages of 11 and 14 into the educational system. This aims to raise community and family awareness about the necessity of adolescent females attending school. If Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) counsel and refer out-of-school teenage females, they will be paid extra.

Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav Scheme’s Main Objectives

• The Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav Scheme attempts to reintegrate out-of-school teenage girls in India into formal education and/or skilling. 
• Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav also aims to increase school enrollment and retention for girls aged 11 to 14.
• The Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav intends to build on existing schemes and programmes for out-of-school girls, such as Schemes for Adolescent Girls (SAG), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), and the National Education Policy (NEP).

Women’s education issues

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said at the launch of the ‘Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav’ campaign that the government understands the need of working with women and girls to build skills such as health, education, security, and financial literacy. Committed to long-term investments in manufacturing, the empowerment of young women and girls, and the promotion of gender-equal attitudes and behaviours among India’s youth and kids.

Despite the fact that female enrollment has expanded considerably since the 1990s, there is still a significant gap between upper elementary and secondary school.

• High drop-out rates: Girls’ increased enrollment is hampered by chronically high drop-out rates and poor attendance compared to boys. Girls make up a sizable share of the out-of-school population.
• Variations between states: Gender parity varies greatly from one state to the next. While the most dramatic improvements in female enrollment have happened in the states with the lowest educational attainment, such as Bihar and Rajasthan, these states still have a long way to catch up to the better-performing states of Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Government Initiatives

Various government initiatives in India aimed at women’s education include:

• The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme aims to raise awareness and improve the efficiency of girl child welfare services. The campaign’s primary goal was to address the diminishing child sex ratio, but it has since expanded to include girl child education, survival, and protection.
• To aid in the growth of girls’ education in India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has created a Digital Gender Atlas.
• NSIGSE(National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education) is the scheme’s goal is to create an enabling environment that will lower dropout rates and encourage girls to enrol in secondary schools.
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: To ensure greater participation of girls in elementary education, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has targeted interventions for girls, such as the opening of schools, the appointment of additional women teachers, and the provision of separate toilets for girls, and teacher sensitisation programmes. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas have also been established in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs).
• The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) aims to improve education quality by putting a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every home, improving the quality of secondary education, and removing gender, socioeconomic, and disability barriers.
• Udaan: The CBSE has launched ‘Udaan,’ a free online resource for girl students in Class XI and Class XII who are preparing for their exams. The scheme’s main goal is to address the low number of female students enrolled at elite universities.
• Supernumerary seats in the IITs and NITs have been introduced to promote the involvement of women in STEM education.

The scheme’s goals

1. It includes preventing gender-based sex-selective elimination.
2. To ensure the girl child’s life and protection.
3. Ensure the girl child’s education and participation.

Programs aimed at adolescent females

The department is also implementing out-of-school teenage female programmes, which will be led by the Anganwadi system and education officers at the district and block levels.

According to an official release, the system will be known as the ‘Scheme for Adolescent Girls’ – SAG, which was created to help out-of-school girls but is currently ineffective.

Furthermore, funds from the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan will be used to incentivise Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) to advise and refer to out-of-school teenage girls. It aims to gather information on out-of-school girls through their visits to Anganwadi Centres for nutrition, nutrition education, and skilling.

Conclusion

The initiative intends a convergent approach between the MoWCD and the MoE in collaboration with international organisations. It was emphasised that while it has been critical for the ministry of education to prioritise girls’ enrolment in the past years, in light of the recent pandemic, it has become imperative to join our efforts and systemically leverage support for girls’ enrolment and retention in school,  focusing on supporting girls transitioning into secondary education and completion.” The UNICEF representative emphasised the necessity of the programmes. Girls, it was noted, fulfil their right to education and improved prospects in life and work and contribute to the development of strong and resilient societies.