Jharkhand’s Geeta* Goes Back to School

Jharkhand’s Geeta* Goes Back to School

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Geeta Kumari, a 13 year-old class four student of the Munda community had to drop out of school in 2018. But with Oxfam India’s child-tracking campaign — that tracks out of school children and gets them to school- Geeta has once again started going to school. 
She is now in class five.  

Despite financial constraints, Geeta’s parents were keen to send her to school, but she wasn’t very interested and often skipped classes, eventually dropping out of school. She spent her day doing household chores, taking care of her siblings and helping her parents with taking their cattle out for grazing. Her elder sister who was studying in class nine had to drop due to health reasons. 

In Jharkhand, Oxfam India and its partner LEADS, through their Child Tracking Campaign identify and track dropouts, out of school, and irregular students at the start of each academic session and at regular intervals. They identify such children through village level community meetings, Bal Sansad meetings (student counselors elected by the students), and home visits. 

READ: DEVYANI GOES BACK TO SCHOOL

Once the children are identified, Oxfam India and LEADS conducts trainings and workshops with different stakeholders — parents, students, teachers, School Management Committees (SMCs) and Bal Sansad members — to enrol children back into school. The trainings also include awareness building activities about the proper implementation of the Right to Education Act and the need for education, with focus on girl child education.

Geeta was identified during one of these child-tracking activities. Oxfam India and LEADS team members first understood the reasons for her not going to school and then they held three rounds of discussions with her, after which she finally went to school. Moreover, the members of the Bal Sansad helped her gain interest in learning, once again. 

Geeta has now adjusted to the school environment and attends her classes regularly.

Oxfam India and LEADS have been working together since 2012. They initiated the child-tracking campaign in 14 villages in Torpa block in Khunti district and expanded their reach to Murhu block in 2018. Since the start of this partnership, 19 children in the villages have been attending school regularly. 

Oxfam India campaigns for education of children from marginalised communities, especially girl child education, in four other states in India – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, and Chhattisgarh. Its focus is to ensure proper implementation of the RTE Act while working with communities to spread awareness, monitor the delivery of quality education, engage with teachers and parents, form students groups and bring together education networks to build a stronger education system in India.

Supporters like you made it possible for Geeta to return to school. Let us support girl child education and ensure every girl gets the education she deserves. SUPPORT NOW.

*Name changed to protect identity