Form strategies to end gender disparity in schools, state told

Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 18

Expressing concern over the gender parity in terms of poor enrolment of girls in state-run schools, a Central government panel has asked the J&K authorities to conduct specific studies to understand the reasons for low enrolment of girls as compared to boys.

Sources said a parliamentary standing committee on human resource development in its report revealed that three districts at the primary level and four districts at the upper primary level in J&K had poor enrolment of girls. They said the committee had impressed upon the state government to devise district-specific strategies to help improve the enrolment of girls in these districts.

Sources said as many as 7,00,096 children, including 3,40,489 girls and 3,59,607 boys, had been enrolled in more than 12,000 government schools in Jammu division. The overall enrolment ratio is 49:51.

The sorry state of affairs can be gauged from the fact that nine of the 10 districts of Jammu province have low enrolment of girls in government schools as compared to boys. Only Poonch district has 50:50 enrolment ratio of boys and girls. Further, there are a little more than 300 educational institutions for girl students, while for boys, there are as many as 1,500 schools in the Jammu region.

The other districts with skewed enrolment ratios includes Jammu (49:51), Samba (49:51), Rajouri (49:51), Doda (47:53), Kathua (48:52), Ramban (48:52), Kishtwar (48:52), Udhampur (48:52) and Reasi (48:52).

The panel also noticed that J&K was among 14 states which lagged in providing drinking water facility, ramp, boundary wall, playground, library and electricity in schools. Other states included Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Mani-pur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.

“The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in the state are also functioning poorly. Moreover, the state is yet to operationalise two KGBVs – one in Kharoo of Leh district and another in Kishtwar district. Around 2,453 (37 per cent) seats are still lying vacant in the KGBVs,” an official claimed.

Pertinently, residential schools were sanctioned by the Centre under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan throughout the country, including J&K, to bridge the enrolment gap with the maximum enrolment of girls.

Low enrolment of girls

• Nine of the 10 districts of Jammu province have low enrolment of girls in schools as compared to boys
• Only Poonch district has 50:50 enrolment ratio of boys and girls in government schools
• There are a little more than 300 educational institutions for girl students. For boys, there are as many as 1,500 schools in the Jammu region 
• Other districts with skewed enrolment ratios are Jammu (49:51), Samba (49:51), Rajouri (49:51), Doda (47:53), Kathua (48:52), Ramban (48:52), Kishtwar (48:52), Udhampur (48:52) and Reasi (48:52)