Kanyashree brought Bengal girls' primary dropout rate to zero: CM
2
Kolkata: Ninety-three lakh Kanyashree recipients, including Pratima Rai, who scaled Mt Everest, and Arfin Jabee, who swam the English Channel, have helped bring Bengal girl primary school dropout rate to zero, CM
Mamata Banerjee
said on Thursday as she felicitated Kanyashree achievers who excelled in diverse professional fields such as medicine, law enforcement, academics and art.
Kanyashree, a UNESCO-awarded scheme, provides cash incentives to unmarried girls to study, aiming to stop early marriages and school dropouts. Kanyashree entered its 12th year on Thursday.
The CM said, "It is not just about academics; girls can do vocational training, karate, judo. Some have become pilots, engineers, doctors, dancers and footballers — everything. In 2011-12, the dropout rate for girls in primary education was 4.7%; today, it is zero. In secondary education, the dropout rate for girls was 16.3%; in 2023–24, it was 2.9%. In higher secondary, it was 15.4%; now it is 3.2%. Is this not something to be proud of?"
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"I first conceived the idea in 2013, 12 years ago.
After my father passed away, I sold one of my necklaces to enroll in college. We had no facilities, no advantages. This generation's students and youth should not suffer like that; they must be self-reliant. I urge parents not to pressure girls into marriage; they can be self-dependent," the CM said.
"Earlier, Kanyashree was just in schools. I saw parents wanting to get their girls married under pressure. Today, in all state schools, they are all Kanyashrees. In colleges, they get Kanyashree-2, and in universities, Kanyashree-3. I was very proud the day I stood at the United Nations forum in the Netherlands. Almost 600 programmes from around the world were present, and Kanyashree was awarded the first prize," the CM said.
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