‘Poor access to good tuition holding girls back’
LUCKNOW: ‘Girls outdo boys in Board examinations’, an oftrepeated headline has become a cliché in academic circles now. Every year, it is the girls who secure top positions or grab maximum first division marks in Class 10 and 12 examinations, but their merit is not translated into success when it comes to entrance tests for IIT and other premier technical institutions. Why?
Ruling out the common perception that girls are only good at memorising, Central Board of Secondary Education secretary Joseph Emmanuel said: “Reluctance of parents to send their daughters to distant places to prepare for competitive exams
CBSE’S ‘UDAAN’ IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE PLATFORM TO DESERVING GIRL STUDENTS WHO ASPIRE TO PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING
JOSEPH EMMANUEL, secretary, CBSE
and an equal lack of quality study opportunities in the neighbourhood are two major reasons behind poor performance of our girls.”
Emmanuel, who was in Lucknow on Sunday, told Hindustan Times: “Girls’ entry to premiere institutes is really low when compared to their total enrollment in technical institutes. Merely 10-12% girls are able to clear the entrance to these premier technical education institu- tions.”
“So to create more educational opportunities for girl students, this Children’s Day the CBSE has launched ‘Udaan’, a programme designed to provide a comprehensive platform to deserving girl students who aspire to pursue higher education in engineering and assist them to prepare for the IIT-JEE, while studying in Classes 11 and 12,” he said. The project aims to address the low enrollment of girls in engineering colleges.
The CBSE has set up 52 centres across the country, including three in UP-one each in Lucknow, Varanasi and Agra-where select meritorious girls, cutting across all boards and whose family income is less than ` 6 lakh per annum, would be provided free guidance by experts on the subject. The Lucknow centre for ‘Udaan’ is Rani Laxmibai Memorial Senior Secondary School.
However ‘Udaan’ is not just an educational centre. “Its main aim is to bridge the gender gap in premier educational institutions of our country. It also seeks to help girls achieve their true potential and participate in nation building,” Emmanuel added.