Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao? 60% funds used on publicity, 88% schools don't comply with RTE

Delhi National Capital Region girls speak about their woes

By Mitra Ranjan*

India is a country which claims to have a culture of respecting women and girls since ages. But reality on the ground is entirely different, rather grim. Presently, girls are fighting for their right to birth and survival. They are deprived of literacy and education. They are forcibly pushed for early marriage and their safety and security have gone for toss.
Speaking on these lines at a media conference, jointly organized by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum Forum, Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) and Alliance for the Right to Early Childhood Development (ARECD) at the Indian Women’s Press Corps, New Delhi, pointed towards failure of the slogan “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.
Addressing media on the occasion of 12th National Girl Child Day and the 1st International Day of Education,, Ambarish Rai, National Convener, RTE Forum said, “It’s imperative to know where the girls in India stand today after more than seven decades of being a free country. Situation is very pathetic on the ground. Girls are deprived of all of their fundamental rights, particularly education. We all of us have heard the drumbeating of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ by the government.”
He added, “But it is the government which has failed this programme. The total budget of this programme was Rs 100 crore. And we know the news that approximately 60 per cent of this fund has been wasted on publicity only. Remaining 40 crore is just farce and inadequate to provide education to girls of this country.”
Rai further said, “Children from 6-14 years of age in India have a right to free and quality education. Even after nearly nine years of the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, millions of girls are still out of school because of absence of female teachers, lack of separate toilets, lack of safety and security within and outside the schools.”
According to him, “Only 12 per cent schools in India are compliant with the RTE Act. On the top of this, under the pretext of rationalization, nearly 2 lakh schools have been closed down. Where do we stand on world’s education map?”
CACL’s Ashok Kumar, who also attached with ARECD, said, “There were 972 women per 1000 men in 1901 and now this figure slipped to 940 women per 1000 men in 2011. Now the question is where are the missing numbers?”
“The global average of female literacy rate is 79.7 per cent whereas in India, this figure is 65.46 per cent. In Kerala, female literacy rate is 92.07 per cent whereas in Bihar it is as low as 51.5 per cent. This kind of disparities and slackness is the real bottleneck for the betterment of girls”, he added.
Speakers pointed out that 27 per cent girls are married before reaching their 18th birthday. More than one third of adolescent girls in India are subjected to varied degree of sexual abuse including rape. “Can we justify our claim to be world’s fastest growing economy?”, they wondered.
Leaders of the three networks demanded complete implementation of the RTE Act, extension of the act to include all children from birth to 18 years of age, strengthening of the public education system and increased investment in girls’ education as the way forward to universalize girls’ access to free, safe and quality education.
Girls from different communities across Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) joined in to point towards huge barriers they faced in accessing quality and equitable education. Those who spoke included Shehnaz from Seemapuri, East Delhi, Lalita from Adarsh Nagar, Sonam and Shabnam from Nirantar, Madhu from Vasant Vihar, Anchal from Okhla along with some School Mangement Committee.
Some of the girls said how their names were cancelled without any information from their schools after a period of their absence. Anchal narrated about the adverse atmosphere in schools for differently abled students. Bhawani from Vasant Vihar added, she was forced to leave school in class 9 to take care of domestic chores.
---
*Media and Communication, RTE Forum

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

School closures across states raise concerns amid Govt of India claims of improved access

By A Representative A recent report has raised concerns over the closure and merger of government schools in several Indian states, particularly in Bihar, where a significant number of institutions have reportedly been shut down or earmarked for closure.

Health activist group raises concerns over HPV vaccination drive, seeks temporary halt

By A Representative Swasthya Adhikar Manch, a public health advocacy group, has urged the Union government to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the ongoing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, and called for its temporary suspension pending a comprehensive review. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the group flagged what it described as unresolved concerns surrounding the nationwide rollout of the HPV vaccine, which began on February 28, 2026. The campaign targets 14-year-old girls and involves administering Gardasil, a quadrivalent vaccine intended to protect against certain strains of HPV linked to cervical cancer.

Search This Blog