There is no school in Uttar Pradesh’s Lambui Purva village for economically backward and marginalised communities. Until recently, a makeshift boat was the only way to reach this hamlet located in Tandiyawa block, Hardoi district, during the monsoons.

But this did not stop Rekha from becoming the first girl to go to college from here. Considering that for every 100 rural girls enrolled, only one completes high school, Rekha’s achievement is remarkable. Not only has it been life-changing for her but it has also opened the doors for many other girls like her in and around her village who had never imagined they would get the opportunity to study.

Packing years into months

This has been possible thanks to Udaan, an innovative learning project in Hardoi that helps never-enrolled or out-of-school girls of ages 11-14 live their dream. Every year this residential education programme, designed and initiated in 1999 by CARE India, the Delhi-based not-for profit, helps 100 girls complete five years of primary schooling in 11 months in partnership with Sarvodaya Ashram, their implementing partner in Hardoi.

Thereafter, the girls are main-streamed into the formal education system and enrolled in Class VI in government schools. So far, 95 per cent of the girls registered in Udaan in UP have passed the government’s Class V examination necessary to move to Class VI. Further, 80 per cent who enrolled in Class VI, like Rekha, are pursuing higher studies. “I want to become a teacher. If I had not joined the Udaan programme, I would have probably been married off like others in the village. I was already 13 years old and would have never got the chance to make my dream come true,” said the 20-year-old Rekha.

But her dream may have never come true had it not been for the perseverance of Lal Mohammed, the project community mobiliser. Like many others, Rekha’s parents didn’t think education was important and instead entrusted her with sibling care. But Mohammed managed to convince them that Udaan could change her life for the better. “I wasn’t confident at first. I am illiterate. But I got convinced about the benefits,” said Jairani Devi, Rekha’s mother. However, changing mindsets wasn’t easy. It took many meetings. “The strategy to bring parents to the residential school located 16 km outside Hardoi city to let them meet the teachers made the difference,” said Mohammed.

It also helped that the two-decade-old Sarvodaya Ashram was known to the community. It was already running a day school for children from nearby villages. So a rapport had been built with the people. “We joined hands with the Ashram after CARE decided to work in Hardoi after a survey showed that the majority of the girls between 11 and 14 years had either never attended school or dropped out. It was an expansion of our Girl’s Education Programme that makes education more inclusive for marginalised communities. We are currently working in 40 villages of two blocks, Tadiyawan and Ahirori, in Hardoi district,” revealed Vandana Mishra, programme manager.

The curriculum has been specially designed using the learning from previous CARE programmes. Six women teachers have been trained to teach language, mathematics and environmental science in addition to learning about themselves, human rights and gender equality. Issues like child marriage, dowry, and importance of education for girls are also touched upon. “It’s not just academics we pack in...We weave in special leadership training to build their agency and make them agents of change,” said Urmilla Srivastava, director, Sarvodaya Ashram.

Shaping up as agents of change

Priyanka Kumari, 16, of Karanpur village, is one such change agent. After completing the Udaan accelerated bridge course in 2015, she was mainstreamed to Class VI. Unfortunately, her father’s addiction to alcohol hampered her studies. Priyanka tried to persuade her father to give up drinking and allow her to continue her education. “But when nothing worked, I filed a police complaint against his alcoholism and abusive behaviour. This did the trick. He stopped drinking and has even allowed my younger sister to enrol in Udaan,” recalled Priyanka.

Change has also come in the form of delayed marriages. The latest programme assessment of 1,056 of the 1,567 girls enrolled during 1999-2017 shows that after graduation, 595 got married and 460 girls still remain single. In fact, data shows that all, barring one, married at a suitable legal age. In a region where child marriages are rampant and acceptable, this is a big accomplishment.

In 2011, the Udaan model was rolled out in Odisha and Bihar and in Haryana in 2013. But its biggest success came last year. Since 2017, its special leadership training curriculum has been adopted by all 746 State Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and 45,590 upper primary schools in 75 districts.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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