Girl Education

Education plays an essential role in everyone's lives as it paves the way for an individual to reach their highest potential in any field. Education aids in acquiring skills, techniques, knowledge, and information for overall development. Getting proper education is the birthright of every person irrespective of their gender.

Where boys are bestowed with the best education facilities, even today, girls are deprived of proper education, and they are even discouraged from trying to get it. Girl child education has been a matter of concern for ages, and the government has been taking the required measures from time to time to overcome this problem.

What is The Nanhi Kali Project?

In 1996, the chairman of the Mahindra Group started 'The Nanhi Kali Project' with the prime motive of educating underprivileged girls in India. The project was started because of the rising population growth rate, low female literacy level, low female employment, and also to fight against the evils of child marriage and child labor. The Nanhi Kali Project aims at supporting girls from low-income families to complete ten years of formal education. Till now, the project has impacted the lives of over 4,50,000 girls across the country.

The pre-existing gender disparities in education have compelled many girls to give up on their dreams of getting quality education during COVID-19. The primary reason was that poor families have limited resources to connect digitally. Even if they had a smartphone, the male member would be given priority to access the device over the female. To safeguard the interest of girls and to ensure every underprivileged girl continues with her education, the Nanhi Kali team doubled their efforts in providing quality digital education facilities. Here are a few steps that are taken by the Nanhi Kali team to support girl child education.

Providing Academic Support

The Nanhi Kali team provided daily academic support at the Nanhi Kali Academic Support Centers, set up within the government schools, operating for two hours before and after school hours. At these support centers, every Nanhi Kali receives access to a personalized learning platform via Mindspark. Mindspark is personalized learning software that improves learning. The software significantly aids Nanhi Kalis to learn math, their native language, English from class 1 to 10, and science from class 6 to 10. The software also helped students learn at their own pace, ensuring they have a proper understanding of each topic.

2. Women Tutors

The team specially appoints trained and skilled women tutors known as the Community Associates from the local community to impart teachings to the Nanhi Kalis and mentor them. These trained women tutors or Community Associates aim at creating a girl-friendly and safe ecosystem to support girl child education and welfare.

3. Sports Curriculum

Apart from providing education to girls, it is important to provide them with physical training as well. The rising health issues among girls like PCOD, PCOS, and others are impacting their physical and mental health. To overcome this problem, a professionally designed sports curriculum is included in the project to let the Nanhi Kalis practice and participate in sports and fitness activities frequently.

4. School Supplies Kit

The Nanhi Kali project also provides a school supplies kit annually consisting of a school bag, stationery, a pullover/raincoat, and an annual supply of branded sanitary napkins to help every girl attend school with comfort and dignity.

Why is Girl Child Education Important?

Investing in a girl’s education is as essential as investing in a boy’s education since not only boys but girls are also equally responsible for building a country’s future. Girls’ education helps strengthen a country’s economy and reduces inequality. The below-mentioned points state why girl child education is crucial:

To make them Independent:

Educating girl children will help boost their morale and will make them mentally and financially independent. It will also help in the holistic development of girls across the country.

2. To build a career:

Education will empower girls with knowledge and wisdom and will make them capable of starting a business or getting a dignified job after completion of school and college. Building a career out of their learnings will help them earn a living and also support their families. Eminent women like Kalpana Chawla, Nirmala Sitharaman, Indra Nooyi, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chandra Kochhar, and others have excelled in their respective fields, making not only their families but also India proud.

3. To improve mental and physical health:

With education, girls will become aware of health issues such as PCOS, PCOD, breast cancer, etc. Moreover, they will also know how to maintain and lead a healthy and hygienic life. The physical training included in the education curriculum will also keep them physically fit and active.

4. To overcome social barriers:

Educating girls will help abolish child marriage, child labor, the dowry system, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, and other social barriers. With proper education, they will get to know what is good and in their best interest.

5. To strengthen the country’s economy:

Educating both girls and boys will improve the national growth rate and also reduce inequality.

Conclusion

In today’s world, if women are encouraged and given the right support, they can compete with men in every walk and aspect of life. It is essential to empower all women and girls out there, and what’s better than providing them with proper education facilities. The Nanhi Kali project by Mahindra Group is a great initiative to help underprivileged girls provide quality education facilities by hiring trained women tutors, providing them with an AI-powered digital learning platform, a school supplies kit, and a sports program. The Nanhi Kali project is a cost-effective sponsorship model providing constant support to every girl at just INR 500 per month. If you also wish to do your part, join hands with Nanhi Kali and help brighten someone’s future.

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