Attendance audit at U.P. govt schools to check dropout rate among girls

Such girls, who are usually absent from school, would be identified and teachers would visit the family to ascertain reasons and bring them back

With a view to checking the school dropout rate among girl students, the state basic education department will closely monitor regular attendance of girl students in government primary and upper primary schools.

Girl students attending their class in a government school in Prayagraj. (HT file)

An attendance audit would be conducted on the last Saturday of every month wherein such girls, who are usually absent, would be identified and teachers would visit the family to ascertain the reasons so that these girl students can be brought back to school.

“The idea is to minimise the number of girl dropouts. There is no problem with their enrolment. But it is the dropout rate of girl students that needs to be addressed. A list of such girls should be prepared and their parents should be contacted so that all the girls may be encouraged to come back to the school daily. During the parent teacher meetings, such parents should be honoured whose daughters regularly come to school,” said director general, school education, Vijay Kiran Anand in a letter to all district magistrates.

“It was decided that during the sessions conducted under life skills education in upper primary schools on Saturdays, the students will be informed about child rights, safety and security such as domestic violence, violence against children, sexual violence, molestation, good and bad touch. Information about helpline numbers etc should be provided to the girl students in particular,” the letter read.

Paintings, debates and discussions should be organised with children on the importance of girl child education in the meetings of the parents every month and an exhibition should be shown to the parents by preparing a children’s newspaper. Along with this, while discussing the importance of girl child education, girls should be made aware and encouraged to give more and more opportunities to study at home.

Now schoolchildren will be made aware of legal provisions like right to education, POCSO, child marriage, dowry practice, domestic violence etc by the facilitator/teacher. Also, information about child helpline number 1098, women helpline number 1090, helpline number 112 for contacting the police in case of any kind of harassment and helpline number 181 for any kind of police assistance be provided.

In upper primary schools, teachers should regularly discuss menstrual hygiene management with girls. Awareness should be created by discussing the issues of legal literacy, POCSO and child marriage in the meetings of teacher-parent association.

Children’s parliament should be organised in every primary school and “Meena Manch” in every upper primary school and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, the letter read.