KGBV scheme fails to click amid cries for ‘empowerment’ of girl child
Srinagar: The School Education Department has failed to implement the centrally sponsored scheme- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidhyalaya (KGBV) scheme state since the scheme was announced in the state.
Incomplete construction of KGBV buildings and vacant seats has marred the implementation of the scheme due to which the state has failed to achieve the targets set under the scheme.
As per the official documents accessed by this newspaper, the school education department has left around 39 percent seats vacant in KGBV residential schools for female students.
Pertinently, the KGBV schools were set up by Ministry of Human resource development (MHRD) around a decade ago in 97 educationally backward blocks of the state. The motive behind setting up these residential schools was to provide educational facilities to the female students in far off areas. However, the department has failed to fill all the seats available in these residential schools.
“These schools were specifically established for the girls belonging to educationally backward blocks but the department has kept 2700 seats vacant against the target of enrolling 7000 girl students in these schools,” reads the document available with ‘Kashmir Vision’.
The department has also failed to complete the construction of the KGBV school buildings over the past many years now, insiders reveal.
As per the official documents, the department has failed to complete construction of 76 KGBV school buildings while as the construction of KGBV schools of second phase is yet to be started by the department.
“The MHRD has taken a serious not of the vacant seats and incomplete buildings in the state. The department has been asked to expedite the construction work and complete the incomplete KGBV buildings by the end of this year,” an official said, wishing not to be named.
He also said the department has been warned by MHRD to surrender the funds released for construction of KGBV buildings if the buildings were not completed by the end of the current financial year.
As per the official document, construction of 30 KGBV buildings is yet to begin in J&K while as construction of 53 buildings is under progress from the past eight years.
Notably, KGBV scheme was introduced by the government of India (GoI) to provide educational facilities for girls belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minority communities and families below the poverty line in educationally backward blocks (EBB).
As per the official documents, 33 posts of wardens, 44 accountants, 27 watchmen, 19 Peons, 15 head cooks and 69 assistant cooks are lying vacant in all KGBV schools.
Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Muhammad Younis Malik could not be contacted for his version.
KV Correspondent
