The Yogi Adityanath government is running several programmes, including Mission Shakti, to empower girls.
In line with this initiative, on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a new campaign is being started to make the daughters of the underprivileged class capable and self-reliant, claimed an official spokesman here on Sunday.
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Uttar Pradesh, in association with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), will work under the Aarohini Initiative Training Programme for the safety and security of girls in all 746 Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools in the state.
The campaign aims at enabling daughters of the underprivileged sections to raise their voice for their rights along with creating an understanding of the happenings in their lives among them. To make girls capable, training will be provided to full-time teachers of Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools, who will not only educate girls but will also be helpful for them. The training of teachers will start in Lucknow from February 1.
Director General of School Education Vijay Kiran Anand said that the main objective of the Aarohini programme, which would be implemented in three phases, was gender sensitisation. In the first phase, which will start on February 1, teachers will be trained. Two teachers of every Kasturba Gandhi residential girls' school will receive the training, and they will then educate the girl students of the school. Along with the teachers, the institution will also groom the girls through debates and other activities. In the third phase, the campaign will be run at community level, making people aware of the issue of gender sensitisation.
Under the Basic Education department, there are 746 Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools in the entire state, out of which 56 have been upgraded up to class 12. Aarohini tackles the problems of these young girls. The warden will select teachers for training. Apart from this, the officer of the Basic Education department will review this entire programme from time to time.
Leading this programme on behalf of Study Hall Education Foundation, Priyanka said that Aarohini was a gender-based programme. “In Kasturba Gandhi residential schools, daughters from underprivileged classes, whose families have a huge gender gap, come to study. Our aim under this programme is to raise awareness of girls about their rights and issues and empower them to fight for themselves. During the training, teachers will be told about how this programme will work and how they have to make the children aware. The whole programme is based on critical feminist pedagogy,” she said.
According to her, the teachers will make children understand their problems and enable them to find solutions to it on their own. With the help of this, girls will be able to face challenges like child marriage, domestic violence, not being able to complete education or any kind of problem in a planned manner and raise their voice for their rights. Apart from this, the annual 'Daughters Campaign' will also be run in these schools in which a specific issue is raised by involving children, the community and the teachers.
According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the NGO, the organisation will train two full-time teachers (1,492 teachers on priority basis) from all 746 Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools on safety and protection of the girl child. To provide cooperation to the teachers at the district level by the institution, the girl education coordinator of each district will be provided training at the state level as the main trainer. Also, a support network will be created by involving trained teachers, chief trainer district coordinator (girls’ education), child welfare committee members, district child welfare officers and district child marriage prohibition officers in all Kasturba Gandhi residential girls’ schools of the state. Study Hall Educational Foundation will also provide cooperation by making field visits from time to time through women employees. Trained teachers will be provided important information and suggestions related to women's issues by the organisation through tele-monitoring cell (phone call) every month.
