A new project launched in India, Project Pragati, is aiming to provide education to 10 million rural girls who have dropped out of school. This initiative is being led by Educate Girls, a non-profit organization that seeks to facilitate education for girls in rural Indian communities, and it has received support from the government. The program will operate in over 20,000 villages in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, and its goal is to provide 10th grade qualifications over the next decade.
One of the primary challenges that girls in rural areas face is access to education due to a lack of adequate infrastructure, facilities, and resources. Nearly 40% of adolescent girls aged 15-18 in India do not have access to any kind of schooling, making the Project Pragati initiative critical to promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a global blueprint for a sustainable future, which were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, and aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all people.
Educate Girls has identified locally-based volunteers who will help identify adolescent girls and young women who have permanently dropped out of school. These girls will then be enrolled in secondary schools and will receive support for exams in learning camps set up in the villages where they live. Educate Girls believes that a 10th-grade certificate has a lifetime wealth effect of $60,000 in India, which can have a positive impact on the financial independence of these young women.
The lack of qualified female teachers in many rural areas, the distance between homes and schools, and period stigma and poverty are among the main issues hindering girls’ education. Educate Girls believes that Project Pragati will provide a second chance for young women who have no hope of being in school to build a better life for themselves.
In conclusion, the Project Pragati initiative has the potential to bring sustainable development goals to life by addressing the critical issue of access to education for girls in rural areas. Through this initiative, Educate Girls hopes to provide a second chance at education for young women and promote financial independence, which will ultimately help build a better future for the global society as a whole.
More information: https://www.nadja.co/2023/03/25/new-project-aims-to-bring-education-to-10-million-girls-in-rural-india/