‘International Day of the Girl Child’: Technology helping empower girls through education | India TV

"Data shows that Delhi government’s 106 pc increase in education budget to uplift quality of education hasn’t really had the desired impact" report Abhinav Ranjan, New Delhi.

Classroom view of one of the Digital Learning Centers being run by Plan India in Dwarka
Photo: Abhinav Ranjan

As the world observes the International Day of the Girl Child today – supporting and reflecting greater opportunity for girls and increasing awareness of gender inequality faced by girls based upon their gender –India, home to the largest number of children in the world, is challenged by its shortcomings in providing girls access to quality education, healthcare and nutrition.

Nearly 60 lakh children are still out of school and several more are either dropping out or are irregular in going to school. Data shows a drop in child marriage in girls from 47.4 per cent in 2005-06 to 30.3 per cent in 2013-14. But the overall status of girls has not been much to celebrate.

According to data furnished by the Unified District Information System, Delhi government’s claims to introduce measures and increase education budget by 106 per cent to uplift quality of education hasn’t really had the desired impact.

As per the data, the national capital recorded a 5.31 per cent jump in school dropout rate in 5th standard in in 2015-16, the highest in last 3 years. In 2014-15, the dropout rate was as low as 2.38 percent and the year before that, Delhi saw not a single child leaving school at the said level.

The situation is equally alarming on the national level, with a UN report for 2015-16 saying that 4.7 crore children in the secondary and higher secondary school-going age dropped out of school. The enrollment in class 10 is 77 percent, but enrollment in class 11 is only 52 per cent.

“I was never a high-scoring student in my school examinations,” says Riya (name changed), a class IX student from one of the government-run schools in Dwarka region of Delhi. Over time, she has improved and claims to have gained self-confidence and developed the ability to “solve text book problems accurately within the stipulated time in examinations,” positioning herself as the top performers in her class.
Read more... 

Source: India TV