38% KGBV students clean toilets; just 19% teachers permanent; gender bias in courses: NCERT report

NEW DELHI: No new Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in the next three-to-five years; focus on upgrade of the existing ones; vocational programmes that do not “promote the concept of soft or ‘feminine’ subjects considered suitable for girls”; increased funds and their timely disbursal by the ministry of education – these are among the recommendations of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for the KGBVs.

The KGBVs are a network of residential schools for girls from historically-marginalised communities, in educationally-back backward regions of India. The NCERT conducted the review and recently submitted its report, National Evaluation of KGBV-2022-23. It also points to problems and challenges being faced by these special schools, such as the low retention rate among teachers and ancillary staff due to low salary and inadequate funds, limited subject options that reinforce gender stereotypes and infrastructure shortage. Of the students surveyed, 31.2% said they clean classrooms and hostels; 37.8% clean toilets.

The review undertaken by NCERT studied a 5% sample of 4,981 functioning KGBVs – 254 schools. It covers four types of KGBVs depending on the classes and hostels– Classes 6-8; Classes 6-10; Classes 6-12; Classes 9-12 (hostel only). The study has included inputs received from 201 districts, including 62 aspirational districts.

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This is the third evaluation report of the Kasturba school system, first set up to bring girls who had dropped out of school back into formal education.

Kasturba schools

As per the report, there are a total of 5,654 sanctioned KGBVs, of which 4,986 are fully or partially functional and 668 (11.7%) are non-functional. Bihar has the maximum number of non-functional KGBVs.

The residential school scheme, a part of the umbrella Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, was introduced in August 2004 in educationally-backward blocks (EBB) for girls belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minority communities and those below the poverty line. The first lot of 717 were approved in 2004-05.

About 6.9 lakh girls were enrolled in Classes 6-12 in KGBVs as of 2023. Of them 56.36% were enrolled in Classes 6-8 (upper primary) and 43.64% in Classes 9-12 (secondary). Over a fifth of the total enrolment was in Telangana.

“In case of partial functional KGBVs, while asking the reasons for non-functioning of the KGBVs, the majority of state officials said that delay in construction work is the reason for (their) non-functioning,” stated the report.

No new KGBV school

The NCERT review has recommended that no new KGBVs be opened in the near future. Instead, says the report, the “entire focus should be on upgrading existing KGBVs up to secondary and senior secondary stage” and providing all facilities to them. All types of KGBVs must be upgraded into Type 3 schools, running Classes 6 to 12 and with hostels.

The report also notes that the definition of EBBs – on the basis of which new KGBVs are sanctioned – may be outdated as it is based on the Census 2001 data, collected over two decades ago.

The reviewers have recommended that new guidelines be drawn up and these schools be restructured to align with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

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“All the schools need to have their own building with at least minimum infrastructure available for academics and boarding facilities,” says the report. At the time the report was compiled, 117 were running from rented premises and 592 from partially-constructed buildings.

KGBV teachers, staff shortage

The NCERT review notes a serious shortage of permanent teachers in the KGBVs. Of the surveyed schools, just 19% of teachers were regular, full-time appointees; the rest were contract teachers. The schools also have “part-time teachers” who teach sports, yoga and computer science, among others.

“The large chunk of full-time teachers are rendering their services as contractual teachers. This affects the academic standards in these schools committed to provide quality education,” says the report.

The survey also found that just 3% of teachers had more than 15 years of experience; around 44% had below five years of experience and a fourth had 10-15 years. This “indicates the low level of retention of teachers in KGBVs”, says the report. For factors causing attrition after KGBV recruitment, it cites low wages, job insecurity and the often remote locations of the schools.

When they were asked to suggest areas deserving most attention, “it was found that (the need for) more infrastructure got the top priority (33%) followed by filling of vacant posts of teachers and staff (18.9%)”.

The report recommends increasing the KGBV teacher salary. It says: “The salary of a warden is only Rs 10,000. This needs to be increased. The staff salary structure is low, so it’s challenging to retain the staff. All the KGBVs must have regular full-time wardens, and teachers. There is a need to increase budget allocation for...subject-specific teachers.”

NCERT has suggested increasing salaries of the contractual teaching staff, to Rs 35,750 for residential PGTs (postgraduate teacher) at normal stations and Rs 42,250 at hard stations; while TGTs (trained graduate teacher), creative staff and FCSA be given Rs 34,125 at normal stations and Rs 40,625 at hard stations.

KGBV Schools: Inadequate infrastructure

Most Kasturba schools seem to struggle to meet standards set by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan guidelines. As per the SSA framework, beddings have to be replaced every three years but only 54.7% wardens said they did that. “In most of the KGBVs, they require additional dormitories, classrooms, libraries, laboratories,” says the report. In some, there is no permanent space for cooking.

Most seriously, Kasturba Gandhi Ballika Vidyalayas lack a proper system to manage waste. “Most KGBVs lack proper sewage, drainage, and garbage disposal mechanisms. There are open drains in and around the campuses….The daily garbage is dumped in the backyard and occasionally burnt, which is hazardous for residents and neighbours,” the report says.

It also stresses that girls should have separate and individual cots and beds, storage to keep their belongings and a study desk and chair.

The state governments have also been encouraged to tap into CSR funds or those from other schemes to ensure all facilities are available.

Kasturba Schools: ‘Stereotypical vocational kills’

The NCERT also examined the curriculum offered at the KGBV schools and discovered that few offer science and commerce streams; plus, vocational education courses that can impact employability significantly are also rare.

“With regard to humanities subjects, it seems that subjects like sociology and psychology are not available in most KGBVs. …Even computer education is not available in many of the KGBVs which is probably because of lack of adequate infrastructure…,” the report states. As for vocational education, it includes stitching, IT, visual arts, gardening, performing arts, beauty and wellness. 73% of students in Classes 9-12 did not respond.

“Stereotypical vocational skills like sewing, knitting, stitching seem to be the most commonly available followed by visual art, gardening, IT, performing arts, beauty and wellness. There is a need to adopt non-discrimination in skill development, i.e. to develop skill sets needed by the economy rather than guided by gender,” the report states.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya: Funds and food

Much of the straitened condition of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas is owing to low allocation of funds and even lower utilisation. Funding is shared between state and centre in ratios of 60:40, 90:10 or 100%, depending on location.

In 2020-21, just 56.62% of the recurring funds allocated were used. Utilisation was highest in 2018-19, 73.01%. This “raises serious concern about the capacity to utilise the allocated funds”, the report points out. While utilisation dropped sharply in the Covid-19 period, more than a quarter of the funds have gone unused consistently over the four years since 2018-19.

According to the report, the per-student allocation has declined from Rs 38,765 in 2020-21 to Rs 27,491 in 2021-22. However, the utilisation per student during the same period has risen from Rs 17,367 in 2020-21 to Rs 19,460 in 2021-22. The report stresses on the need for states to increase the per student cost, as the low allocation is “affecting the quality and quantity of food provided to students”.

“Due to the non-utilisation of funds, KGBVs are becoming non-functional in a few states (e.g., Nagaland). Children are dropping out or not enrolling themselves….Construction works are either delayed or are still in progress. Low wages and late payments to staff, including teachers, are also significant issues, leading to delays in teaching and non-teaching staff appointments. …Funds released at the end of the financial year are not fully utilised to their total capacity,” states the report.

The NCERT report suggests that the first instalment of funds be released by May 1 and the second in the next 45 days.

Fund allocation for boarding and lodging facilities should be on the basis of “per-student cost” – Rs 1,800 for Classes 6-8 and Rs 2,000 for secondary and senior secondary classes.