The education of women and girls has been a topic of great debate, concern and indeed discussion for quite some time now. Various state-affiliated and non-affiliated bodies have been weighing in on how to turn the tide on this serious oversight in the Indian education system. On the 18th of March, 2017, a sub-committee which was formed by the Central Advisory Board of Education whose sole purpose was to sit and talk about the issues regarding the lack of sanitary toilet facilities, ensured safety and other fundamental needs and necessities all under the umbrella of boosting the education of girls in India, spoke at length about all the concerns and possible plans for dealing with them. The Chairman of this sub-committee was none other than the Deputy Chief Minister of Telengana State, Kadiyam Srihari. Srihari made it clear that he was seeking the cooperation from all of the stakeholders in this matter, so that they may discuss and address these major issues and possibly land on some acceptable recourse for each of them.

What is Being Done

Srihari spoke out saying that the cooperation of each of the stakeholders in this matter was paramount in ensuring that the shortcomings that plague the system are fixed appropriately and the mistakes are dealt with. He made sure to specify that even the teachers, are a vital form of stakeholder in this entire endeavour. A release put out by the committee had some interesting data points and insights on offer. These included the fact that a sheer lack of safety for the girls who were enrolled in hostels as well as residential schools had led to a significant cut in the number of enrolments from female students to these institutions. This is indeed a worrying fact as it means that many girls who were in residential schools and hostels are no longer getting the quality of education they deserve, or in some cases are getting no education at all, as the state is unable to ensure their security and safety.
Srihari was also very quick to hit the trigger and launch out about all the various initiatives which had been taken up by the government of the relatively new state of Telengana all of which had been centred around promoting the education of women and girls. This was to give a certain perspective to the discussions as to what may be done to promote the education of this sector across the country as Telengana has been seen as a model for development since its formation. The same committee is slated to meet later in the end of the month on the 31st of March, 2017 to continue discussions. This might be a more effective meeting as several resolutions to the issues discussed in this preliminary meeting may be put forth and debated upon.
The main ministry behind the setting up of this sub-committee was the HRD Ministry (or Human Resource Development). They wanted to put a focus on looking into the various issues that have plagued the education of women and girls in India in the recent past, as well as take a more historic overview of the matter. A primary catalyst for this action was the fact that there has been a steady drop in the percentage of girls who participate in education, research, and other academic endeavours.