Enrollment of girls in schools improve under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

According to the Ministry of Education, between 2018 and 2020, the country saw a boom in girls enrolling in all levels of school education under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

In an official release issued on Wednesday, the Ministry underlined the significant achievements in the education sector. Between 2018 and 2020, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), which measures overall involvement, improved at all levels of education.

As per the data available on Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) and UDISE plus, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girls has increased from 101.78 in 2018-19 to 103.69 in 2019-20 in the primary section while in the Upper primary section, it has increased from 88.54 in 2018-19 to 91.46 in 2019-20.

In the Secondary section, the GER increased from 76.93 in 2018-19 to 77.83 in 2019-20 while in higher secondary, the numbers increased from 50.84 in 2018-19 to 52.40 in 2019-20, said the Ministry of Education in an official statement.

"Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of Samagra Shiksha", stated the Ministry.

The UDISE/UDISE+ presents the variety of enrolments in blocks and districts across the country under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

To reduce gender gaps at all levels of school education, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) under Samagra Shiksha. KGBVs are residential schools from class VI to XII for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL). A total of 5,627 KGBVs have been sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha as of February 22, in which 6,65,130 girls have been enrolled.

In Uttar Pradesh, 760 KGBVs are operational having an enrolment of 78,820 girls, said the Ministry of Education.