Mewat :
As Mewat gets ready to decide its future ahead in the upcoming general elections, girls from the Muslim community seem to be have already found the key to the backward region’s future.
In a district with a high percentage of school dropouts, mostly girls, and where parents are not keen to educate their daughters, Udaan — an all-girls residential school — has provided several school dropouts and never-been-to-school girls from the community a chance to pursue their education and achieve their goals.
Part of the Mewat Rural Education Programme, the school, set up in collaboration between SRF Foundation and CARE India in 2011, is run in partnership with the department of elementary education and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan of the Haryana government.
Basmeena Khan, 14, a resident of the district’s Rehna village, aspires to become a badminton player one day. Never having been to a school, her life has changed since she enrolled in Udaan. Among the 78 students from 19 Mewat villages to complete the school’s 11-month bridge course this year, Basmeena learnt to read and write, besides getting acquainted with the game of badminton after she joined Udaan.
“As a child I could only read and write Urdu, the language I learnt at the village mosque. I knew nothing about Hindi, English or Mathematics until last year,” said Basmeena.
Asked about her dream of becoming a professional tennis player, the girl’s eyes gleam with confidence. “I want to be like Saina Nehwal,” Basmeena said, who never misses anything on the badminton champion in Hindi newspapers.
Mewat has a high dropout rate of 74% (in Class VI). The district has about 1.6 lakh students studying in Class V (2012-13), 26% in Class VI, whereas a meager 3% (4,926) in Class X, as per the district website.
Hafiz Khan, convenor of NGO Mewat Rights Watch, said, “Even if a girl joins school, she is forced to drop out after Class V as most parents hesitate to let their daughters go out after they attain adolescence.” The idea of opening a school like Udaan was not received warmly and was questioned by almost everyone involved in the project, from government authorities to ground-level volunteers.
It took time to assure parents that the school will not contradict the local customs and religion. “Girls can wear the hijab. They are made to read namaz and learn Urdu. Many gradually got convinced and allowed their girls to enroll,” said Rakesh, project manager, SRF Foundation.
Farmeena Khan, mother of an Udaan student Suhana, said she was initially skeptical of an all-girls residential school in Mewat but now she doesn’t have any qualms about sending her daughter, who wants to be a doctor, here. “I was not sure whether to send my 9-year-old daughter to the school as she had always stayed with us. Eventually we agreed thinking it will open a window of opportunity for her,” said the proud mother.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by Vimal Chander Joshi, TNN / March 22nd, 2014