Taking Stock: Secondary education in Bagalkot and Bijupar districts in northern Karnataka

Themes:
Taking Stock Secondary education in Bagalkot and Bijapur districts in northern Karnataka.pdf

The Government of India has issued regulations to make high schools more ‘girl-friendly’. How well do schools meet these requirements? What else must be done?

Study

As part of the Samata programme to keep girls in school, Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) surveyed 1,075 high schools in northern Karnataka in 2012.

The survey teams collected data from 95,362 male and 79,502 female high school students in order to measure how well schools were complying with government regulations. The study aimed to establish if schools have:

  • libraries, playgrounds, ramps for disabled pupils, electricity and other functioning facilities
  • accessible, usable and separate toilets for boys and girls
  • regular meetings and involve parents in school management and planning

Findings

The findings indicate where schools are succeeding and failing.

  • Not all schools had government mandated, girl-friendly toilet facilities
  • More rural than urban schools provided mid-day meals
  • Most schools provided scholarships but fewer offered tutoring and vocational training
  • The proportion of female teachers fell far below the government’s mandated standard of 50%
  • School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) were rare in private schools, and more common and active in rural than urban schools
  • Many schools did not prepare girls for modern careers
  • Disparity in enrolment and retention of girls from scheduled castes and tribes (SC/ST) 

Call to Action

This update aims to share its findings with government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs), funders, schools and communities. For schools to comply with government regulations, they need to:

  • make schools girl friendly
  • ensure that school infrastructure meets the specific needs of girls such as separate, usable toilets
  • prepare girls for a variety of careers after school by providing computer education and vocational training so that school education is valued
  • recruit and retain more female teachers in government schools
  • activate the SDMCs in the schools to play an important role to increase accountability in schools
  • follow-up and rigorous tracking of SC/ST girls through the school system to ensure that they enter and continue secondary education
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