‘Bihar’s cycle scheme for girls a hit in Zambia, unveiled in 6 African nations’

Professor Nishith Prakash of Northeastern University, Boston, USA, who carried out a study in Zambia a year after the model was introduced there in 2015-16, on Tuesday said the results were remarkable in drawing girls to education.

The Nitish Kumar government’s famed cycle scheme for girl students in Bihar, which is widely acknowledged for its phenomenal success in reducing gender disparity at the level of secondary education since its launch in 2006-07, has achieved equally positive results in faraway Zambia and has been adopted in six African countries.

The cycle scheme for girls was launched by the Nitish Kumar government in 2006-07. (HT Photo)

Professor Nishith Prakash of Northeastern University, Boston, USA, who carried out a study in Zambia a year after the model was introduced there in 2015-16, on Tuesday said the results were remarkable in drawing girls to education.

“The absenteeism of girls in schools reduced by 27%, late arrivals by 66% and average commuting time to schools by 35%. The girls now feel in control of their own lives. Now, they could aspire to higher things with a much better self-image. A desire to delay marriage and pregnancy to an optimal age was also induced in them,” said Prakash, while delivering a lecture on “Wheels of Change: Transforming Girls’ Lives with Bicycles”, organised by the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), a Patna-based think-tank.

Prakash had earlier done a study along with other researchers on the impact of the scheme for ADRI’s International Growth Centre (IGC) - Bihar program and found it had managed to significantly reduce the gender gap in secondary education, which was also reflected in the class 10 Bihar board exams with near parity in the number of girls and boys.

Since the launch of the scheme in Bihar, under which girls who continue secondary school education are given a bicycle for free, the number of beneficiaries has increased over fivefold.

In 2007-08, the number of girl beneficiaries was just 1,56,092, while it increased to 5.48 lakh in 2011-12.

Prakash said the scheme has since been replicated not only in other states of India, but was also subsequently taken up by the United Nations (UN) and unveiled in six other African countries.

Former chief secretary and Information commissioner Tripurari Sharan said it was evident that the lives of girls in the households of Bihar had been transformed in more ways than one. “They have been able to get advanced education, get into jobs and finding suitable life partners at the right age due to the cycle scheme,” he said.

Dr Ashmita Gupta of ADRI said, “The aim of ADRI’s IGC-Bihar program is to do research in such a way that it could be applied in all parts of the real world. This study did just that.”