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Wake-up call for Howrah schools
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editor on 23 December, 2007 02:11:00
 
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.