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Class act: Sthree Shakti to fight illiteracy

By Sacchidananda Kuragund DH News Service Davangere:

The grassroots Sthree Shakti groups’ are showing the way to Education department, which has not been so successful with its literacy programmes.

After taking long strides in economic empowerment, the Sthree Shakti women’s groups are now inching towards social reform.

As part of this effort, the Sthree Shakti groups in Davangere taluk have resolved to eradicate illiteracy through fresh enrolment of children out of schools either due to poverty or being the dropouts. This is the first such move by Sthree Shakti groups in the entire State. Under Unicef-Norad programme, all 75 Sthree Shakti groups in the taluk, with guidance from six non-government organisations (NGOs), have embarked on this programme.

Twenty-two of these groups have already resolved to send the children in their areas to schools.

The NGOs helping them to enrol children in schools are Belaku, Don Bosco, Guri, Seeds, Dalita Mahasabha and St John’s.

Changing the mindset of the parents and the children to go to school, creating awareness about the importance of education and child rights is the main focus of this effort.

According to a rough estimate, there are 5,723 child labourers in Davangere district, while the number of children staying out of schools in the entire State is a staggering 1,60,513. Non-schoolers in Davangere taluk alone number 1,379, according to Education department figures. However, Unicef-Norad survey in 15 villages of the taluk found the figure to cross 3,500, with 10-12 children in every village keeping away from school, says project Coordinator K Raghavendra Bhat.

The effort is targetting both rural and urban street children and child labourers.

In Davangere City, ward-level committees have been formed and 43 of the 182 street children have been entrusted to Don Bosco.

Women pivotal

Six hundred women’s groups have been trained to turn this effort into a movement on the premise that women’s role in children’s education is pivotal to its success.

In Doddabathi, the 14-member Banashankari Women’s Association, apart from pledging to send their own children to school, is persuading dropouts to return to school.

“The moment we learn about any child quitting school in the village, we do everything to get the child readmitted.

Mostly boys dropout,” says Association representative Pramodamma, and adds that the relentless effort to identify dropouts goes on even within the schools.

“We try and help out the abject poor or at least arrange for admission in hostels,” she notes.

A brave movement of making parents aware is on in a small village as Halebathi through the efforts of Saraswathi, Lakshmi, Chowdamma, Bandamma and Gangamatha groups.

Narrating the success of the movement so far, Ms Manjula of Saraswathi group says, parents are, indeed, keen to send their children to school. But poverty hinders them. Yet, our awareness sessions have paid off and no child goes to work here, she reveals with pride.

Which came first?

“It is said illiteracy and poverty are the starting point of child labour. We believe that child labour spawns illiteracy and poverty. Hence, our sole aim is to eradicate child labour,” Mr Bhat adds.