Subarnapur: Barsha Bagha, a dropout student, is back to school. She wants to study with her friends at the school and make her parents’ dreams come true. She does not want to get married at a young age. Barsha is now determined to create her self-identity in the society.
For nearly a year or so, Barsha, a class 9 student of Kushaleswar High School in Dunguripali block in Subarnapur district, was out of school. It was being suspected that her family was planning her marriage. On knowing this, the district administration officials made frequent visits to Barsha’s home and tried to sensitize her parents about the ill-effects of child marriage. Her parents were finally convinced and sent their child back to school.
More such success stories of mainstreaming ‘out of school children’ have been coming out from Odisha’s western district of Subarnapur where the school dropout rate among the children, especially adolescents, was precariously on rise before the intervention of the district administration.
With the personal intervention of Subarnapur Collector Aboli Naravane, a house to house survey was conducted in the entire district during the year 2020-21 to identify the school going children who are out of the school.
Under the personal guidance of Subarnapur Collector Aboli Naravane, the district administration took several initiatives to curb the dropout rates and child marriage.
Under her chairmanship, district level review meetings are being conducted in every month taking into all district level officials, such as DSWO, DWO, DEO, BEOs, CDPO of the district to chalk out the plan ‘No Child Marriage and mainstreaming Out of School Children’. And decision are being taken to conduct the counseling at school level inviting parents, Aganwardi workers, PRI members, sarapanch, CDPO, ABEO of their respective block. Besides, the headmasters and teachers make home visits to counsel the students for sending them to schools, colleges, ITI, diploma in Polytechnics, SIOS Study Centre and appear in supplementary examinations.
Awareness meetings on preventing child marriage and out of school children has been conducted in every High School in the presence of Anganwadi worker, one Police personnel, Sarpanch, PRI members, word members, Block Education Officer of the concerned block and the DCPO to aware the students and parents of the children that child marriage is driven by poverty and has many effects on girls’ health: increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, death during childbirth, and obstetric fistulas. Girls’ offspring are at increased risk for premature birth and death as neonates, infants, or children.
Now it is seen that the total number of out of school girl children between the age group of 15-18 during household survey conducted in 2021 was 956. The Collector has given instructions In the District Review Meeting to DEO, All BEOs and H.M of the High Schools to conduct ‘No Child Marriage & Out of School Children Awareness Programs in each High school of the block during the PTA meeting on second and fourth Saturday of each month.
After the awareness programs conducted in every High School of the Subarnapur district, the number of out of school girl children has been reduced to 509.
“Girls who cleared matriculation exam but couldn’t secure a seat in college were taken for an exposure visit to the ITIs where many of them will be enrolled soon. Some have already done it. It is a step towards zero dropout for girls between the age group 15 to 18”, says the Collector.
One such example was found at Panchayat Samiti Girls High School, Birmaharajpur. Some of the girls students of the school dropped out in 2021 and did not admit themselves in the nearby college due to financial problems of her family. After rigorous counseling by the head master and staffs of the High School, the students and the parents are now interested to admit their ward in the Government ITI situated at Hikudi, Sonepur.