National Scheme for Incentives to Girl Child for Secondary Education

Policy Update
Khushboo Dandona

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
-Nelson Mandela

Education is the one tool for achieving social justice and equality. It is important for the holistic development and creation of an inclusive society. Despite India being the third-largest economy, the promise remained incomplete. According to UDISE+ data, 2023-24, there are 1471891 schools across India, with a total number of enrolments (Primary to Higher secondary) is 234963031. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) stands at 93.0 for the primary level, 89.7 for upper primary, 91.7 for elementary, 77.4 for secondary, and 56.2 for higher secondary level. It was observed that between boys and girls, private schools were preferred for the boys, while girls were sent to the government school.

Gender disparity is profound in India, particularly in areas related to education and literacy. Only one in three girls in India completes secondary school. The reasons behind this are marriage, puberty, poverty, lack of a feminine hygiene system, choosing a male child over a female, prejudice, etc. To increase and improve women’s education in India, there are various initiatives have been taken at the international and national levels. For instance, the WASH program aims to improve the school’s infrastructure so that girls can access menstrual hygiene management.

At the national level, various policies deal with this issue. Back in 2008, a centrally sponsored scheme was launched called the National Scheme of Incentives to girls for secondary education. The aim is to promote the enrolment of girl children in the age group of 14-18 at the secondary stage, especially those who passed class eight. This is to encourage secondary education among all the SC/ST girls. Apart from SC/ST status, the girls who passed the class eight examination from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and enrolled in any State/UT government, government-aided, or local body schools.

There would be no income criteria for a grant or an incentive because girls who passed from these schools would generally be from a disadvantaged section of society. Girls should be below 16 as of the 31st March. Married girls and those who are studying in private unaided schools and enrolled in schools run by the central government, like KVS, NVS, and CBS-affiliated schools, are excluded.

The reason behind their exclusion is that these mentioned schools charged higher fees, and therefore, it was assumed that they may not require any financial assistance. To avail the benefits under this scheme, the beneficiary will have to continue her study at least for two years in the secondary school after her enrolment in class nine.

Under this scheme, a sum of 3,000 is deposited as a fixed deposit. The girls are entitled to withdraw the sum along with the interest thereon on reaching 18 years of age and on passing the 10th class examination. No premature withdrawal will be allowed. An account for the same purpose will be opened in the name of the beneficiary in the nearest public sector bank or in the post office. A passbook or a certificate would be given to the student, which helps in the identification of her as the beneficiary of the scheme

Implementation parameters

State/UT governments, schools controlled and managed by state governments, local bodies, aided private schools, and Panchayati Raj institutions will be the implementing partners.

Execution of policy
Every school that comes under this policy may prepare a proposal for the release of an amount of incentive after properly examining the eligibility criteria and submit it to the state government/UTs through the proper channel. State/UT governments will send a consolidated proposal to the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD. The funds may be released in two installments.

The 1st installment will be released immediately on receipt of the proposal, while the 2nd installment may be released after receipt of the utilization certificate of the 1st installment and progress report from the respective government. The application will be verified, particularly regarding the birth certificate issued by the school head based on the enrollment record.

Technical support group
There will be a consultant constituted to perform the following work:-

  • To examine the proposal, utilization of funds, and progress reports.
  • To collect and analyze the relevant data.
  • To compile the category-wise number of beneficiaries.
  • To assist in its effective implementation and monitoring.
  • Any other work related to it that arises in the course of implementation.

Time frame
Every school that comes under this scheme may complete the identification of eligible girl child and preparation of the proposal within one month of the commencement of the academic year. The State/UT governments will prepare the consolidated proposal and send it within three months of the commencement of the academic year to the Department of School Education, Ministry of HRD, New Delhi.

Release of Grant and Disbursement
After approvals from the Grant-in-Aid Committee, funds may be released in two installments. The grants of State/UT governments may be remitted through the Inter-Government Adjustment Advice or the banking channel. This would include the direct transfer of grants to the accounts of beneficiaries through the banking channel.

Monitoring and Evaluation
The Grant-in-Aid committee may also function as a monitoring committee for the scheme. The scheme will be rigorously evaluated after two years. The review was conducted by independent agencies to further improve the scheme in the future. The State/UT governments may be required to submit Progress reports every quarter. By the end of the academic year, the third-party “process evaluation” should be undertaken on a sample basis.

Conclusion

The scheme is a crucial initiative to promote the upliftment of SC/ST girls and increase gender equality. By providing monetary assistance, it helped to reduce the dropouts and ensure that more girls continue to study beyond primary school. However, since the scheme was launched in 2008, evaluating its actual impact remains challenging to understand.

References

About the Contributor: Khushboo Dandona, a research intern at IMPRI India and a postgraduate student of Gender Studies at the Dr BR Ambedkar University, Delhi.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

Read more at IMPRI:

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