Upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas in Bihar

• 18 Jun 2022

Why in News?

After getting the consent of the central government recently, the Bihar Education Department has prepared an action plan to upgrade 534 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas to plus-two.

Key Points

• A total of 634 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been run so far in the State of Bihar to provide quality education to girls belonging to disadvantaged groups. Out of these, there are 534 schools which have education for girls from classes 6 to 8. All these schools operating from class 6 to 8 will be upgraded to plus-two.
• This will provide education to the girl child belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, disadvantaged groups with poverty line and minority sections, not only from class 6 to 12, but also professional courses.
• At present, there are 5,726 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) operating across the country.
• A total of 50,963 girls from disadvantaged groups enrolled in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas are kept in hostels to provide quality education to them.
• An education department official said smart classrooms, ICT labs and vocational training centers will be set up in all Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas.
• The Education Department has prepared a report on these schools and submitted it to the Central Government so that the Department of School Education and Literacy takes immediate steps to make them operational at the earliest.
• It is known that the Central Government had launched the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme in the year 2006-07 to promote the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. In these schools, 75percent seats will be reserved for girls belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Minorities, while the remaining 25percent seats are reserved for girls from below poverty line families.