B-school’s initiative for ‘Bhavishya’ of girl child

NOBLE GESTURE Now, anyone can contribute for girls’ education as part of IIM-L’s initiative ‘Paarijat’

LUCKNOW: The number of girl students at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow has seen a dip this year, but this hasn’t had an effect on the B-school’s enthusiasm to work towards the promotion of girl child education.

Till last year only IIM-L alumni, students or faculty could contribute to the cause. But from this year, anyone can donate so that more money could be pooled in and more girls are benefitted from the initiative, said students.

IIM-L’s cor porate social responsibility (CSR) initiative ‘Paarijat’ that sponsors girl child education in association with Prerna, an NGO run by Study Hall Education Foundation (SHEF), now covers more than 70 children with 60-plus sponsors. And they plan to take this tally up to 100 in the days to come.

“Through Paarijat, IIM-L alumni, faculty and students sponsor the education of girl children at Prerna school at Gomti Nagar, Lucknow. Started in July 2010 with 23 children, the programme has been scaled to more than 70 children this year,” said Radhika Mittal, a student of IIM-L.

Over Rs 2.5 lakh has been raised this year for the cause. The IIM-L’s CSR flagship body, ‘Bhavishya’ aims at fulfilling dreams of underprivileged girls, said Radhika.

“This initiative is helping girls realise their dreams through the immense support and cooperation of IIM-L alumni. We are looking forward to increase the sponsorship count to 100 plus in the coming year,” said Jay M Shah, an IIM-L student.

Nearly 780 underprivileged girls are enrolled at Prerna School but many drop out each year due to lack of funds or for some other reason. Appreciating IIM-L’s gesture, Urvashi Sahni of Study Hall Educational Foundation said: “It’s not just the funding alone. They also invited many of Prerna girls to hold a function at IIM-L which boosts their confidence.”

As the number of children who are deprived of basic education is increasing, sponsorship support is needed more than ever. “Anyone can help these talented children study - by financially supporting at least one of them through Paarijat,” said Kalyani Rewatkar, another student of IIM-L.

“We are looking forward to an increase in the sponsorship count to help as many children as possible. We appeal one and all to help us extend this initiative to a larger scale to create a difference in their lives,” added Radhika.

Those who extend help will get tax exemption for the same. “Your sponsorship will provide them with study material, uniforms and learning support. How much you need to donate per girl child every year? Class 1to 8: Rs 6,000 and Class 9-12 only Rs 9,000,” said Jay.

This year, the number of girl students who got admission to IIM- L campus has come down to 136 from 187 last year. In 2014, 46% of students who got admission were women, but this year it came down to 32%.