Wake-up call for Howrah schools

The Howrah District Primary School Council has initiated a gender specific programme, in response to the increase in the girl dropout rate, and has discovered that increasing numbers of girls are dropping out of school due to the lack of proper facilities.

The Howrah District Primary School Council has initiated a gender specific programme, in response to the increase in the girl dropout rate, and has discovered that increasing numbers of girls are dropping out of school due to the lack of proper facilities. A council survey showed that in Howrah, about 59,752 children, ranging from 9-13 years, are dropouts. Among them, about 24,695 are girls. It was found that most of these girls are compelled to leave schools due to lack of proper sanitation. “Though the survey has revealed that the number of boys leaving schools is higher than girls, what has caught our attention are the reasons why girls have to leave schools. They include lack of woman teachers who can understand girls better and address their problems, and no proper toilet facilities. For boys, the reasons are more economic-related. Most of them are forced to shoulder the family responsibilities after primary education leaving them with no option than to discontinue their studies,” said Mr Krishnendu Basak, district project officer for Sarva Shiksha Aviyan. The council in association with the Sarva Shiksha Aviyan, has responded by initiating a programme to train teachers to properly deal with various issues that girls face, including an emphasis on understanding girl’s predicaments and making them feel comfortable. According to the survey, the majority of girls and their parents complained that male teachers are either unaware or uninterested in girl’s problems. About 10 per cent of girls in upper primary classes suffer from acute attention deficit disorder. “As such, steps are being taken to increase the number of woman teachers in schools. We have identified about 526 schools in the district where ladies toilets will be constructed once we receive funds from the Central government,” added Mr Basak. The council will also carry out an awareness programme for teachers and parents to help them relate better. “To begin with, we are trying to teach at least one teacher from each school. The programme is in the initial stage for which we have identified some areas where population of the backward classes are higher. These areas include Jagadballabpur, Ulubeia-II, Amta-II. We will be spreading the programme gradually,” said Mr Smritish Bandopadhyay, council chairman.

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