For girls from EWS families, school provided hope

ON SATURDAY afternoon, four young girls from parts of Khatauli block in Muzaffarnagar reached Kasturbagandhiresidentialgirls School. Aged between 10 and 12, the girls had come from villages thatfallundertheblock.“theyare shy in the beginning and miss their homes. All students who studyherebelongtoeconomically weaker sections. They leave their families for the first time to come and study here,” said Neeta Chaudhary, the current warden and principal of the school.

Theschoolmadeheadlinesafter after 70 girls were allegedly made to strip on orders of the principal-cum-warden, Surekha Tomar. She allegedly wanted to check if any of them were menstruating. Tomar was sacked on Friday after an inquiry was conducted by the Muzaffarnagar district administration.

Back at the school, walls painted with poems educating children about hygiene can be found across the campus. One at the school entrance gate is titled “hua savera (the day has dawned)”, and relates the daily routine of “good children” - waking up as the birds start chirping, brushing teeth, washing hands, taking a bath, eating and then going to school.

In a common room on the ground floor, posters with photographs of children washing their hands and drinking water carry similar messages. “Keep school toilets clean,” reads one. Another shows five steps of washing hands.athirdpostertellsstudents how to keep themselves clean.

With three classrooms on the ground floor and three dormitoriesonthefirstfloor,theschoolhas 83 students. “We had 11 students whoappearedforclassviiiexaminations. All of them passed. The school is supposed to have four full-time teachers who live on campus.wehavethreeatpresent. There are four part-time teachers who come to the school during the day. There is one accountant, two guards and three staff members in the kitchen,” said Chaudhary, who joined as a fulltime teacher in 2011 — two years after the school was set up.

Theschoolinoneamongeight suchresidentialschoolsforgirlsin Muzaffarnagar district. “The government decision to set up these schools was taken in 2004-05. There are eight schools functioning at present. Four have a capacityof100students,whilefourothers are Grade II schools, which have a student intake capacity of 50,”saidchandrakeshyadav,district primary education officer.

Through enrollment melas heldeveryyear,andsurveysinvillageseverythreemonths,thedistrict’s education department identifies girls who have dropped outofschool.“theseschoolscater togirlswhohavedroppedoutdue tofinancialpressure.duringthese surveys, which are conducted door-to-door,suchcasesareidentified. We speak to parents and convince them to send their daughters here,” said Yadav.

“Someparentscometousand say their child dropping out of school would help the family in making ends meet. We explain to themtheimportanceofeducating their daughters. The hope that theirchildren’seducationwillhelp them raise their standard of living is what convinces them,” said Shalupawar,afull-timeteacherof physical education at the school.

Express The Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls School.