The Success Story of Girls’ Residential Schools ✒ Salil Saroj e.mail id: [email protected] other drawing their rationales from a variety of experiences within and outside the country. The information on the performance of these schemes / programmes / initiatives remains uneven, isolated and sporadic. Major schemes funded by the union government include Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya funded mainly by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and Ashram Schools and Eklavya Model Resident -ial Schools funded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In addition, both the union and a number of state governments have grants in-aid schemes to support exclusive schools for ST or SC children known generally as ashram schools. Several other non-fee-charging residential schools source their funding from development/philanthropic sources. Barring some isolated small initiatives, Mahila Samakhya run Mahila Shikshan Kendras started as part of Mahila Samakhya under the Ministry of Human Resources Development, with presence in a number of states, can be termed as one of the first major accelerated learning programme that focussed on women/girls keeping the gender concerns as the central theme. This and other similar programmes such as Lok Jhumbish’s Balika Shikshan Shivirs in Rajasthan, M.V.Foundation’s residential bridge courses for girls in Andhra Pradesh, and Udaan - a CARE-India initiative for out of school girls in the age group 9-14 years, has been the major models that informed the design of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, which started in 2004-05 as a pan Indian residential scheme for upper primary schooling of girls. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, meant for educationally backward, low- female-literacy blocks is perceived as a major policy response to the issue of girls’ dropout after primary education. As against Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, the genesis of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, started during 1980s, can be traced to the high-fee-charging residential schools catering to both boys and girls from elite sections of the society modelled after British boarding schools of the colonial era. The policy goal was to provide the same opportunity for excellence to rural boys and girls by opening one well- endowed residential school to each district in the country. Eklavya Model Residential School is also modelled after Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya though located in tribal areas. Structured after some similar initiatives and the oldest of all, the ashram school model was adopted as a policy soon after independence, to promote formal schooling among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The rationales were both economic: covering living as well as accessing costs, and social: taking children away from their contexts which were not conducive to meet the demands of formal schooling per se. At present, there are comprehensive policies on residential schools but certainly not backed by any clear thought, rationale and co-ordinated efforts at the Central and State level. Different schemes emerged at different points of time in history and followed a different trajectory of evolution. It is important to take a look, review, reflect and develop a comprehensive policy based on a clear conceptual framework and a vision that directs all initiatives. The policy should also be able to provide clear pointers towards essential elements and non-negotiable features of any residential schooling program: this can then act as a guide for the state and private players and help in developing their schemes and initiatives accordingly. The vision on residential schools in India must take gender, and other equity concerns in addition to the issue of efficiency and effectiveness into consideration. Also important will be to break the equity-excellence dichotomy. A TO Z INDIA ● SEPTEMBER 2021 ● PAGE 7