Month: February 2024

Spring season has sprung on us. In India, spring’s arrival means that the Holi festival is around the corner. Holi is both a religious and cultural celebration. Hindus celebrate spiritually, but people from other religions in India also celebrate and participate in it. It is the celebration of the harvest. It is the celebration of the arrival of warm weather after the long and cold winters. It is the start of the new year in some parts of India. Whatever the reason, it’s the biggest festival that brings people from all walks of life and all sects together and have a good time. People play with water and colors. They light a bonfire. Sweets are made and distributed. People visit each other’s homes to meet and greet. All the boundaries are broken, and you become one. Holi is on March 25th, and I can’t wait to celebrate it with my family.

Despite significant efforts to improve girls’ education in India, the state of girls’ education in Rajasthan remains a cause for concern. A recent report on Household Consumption of Education in India revealed that Rajasthan has the second-lowest overall literacy rates in the country, with the lowest rates for females. Shockingly, 26 percent of girls aged 14 to 18 in the state are out of school, and of these, 24 percent have never been enrolled in any school. The dropout rate is also alarming, as half of the girls enrolled in Class I in 2008-09 do not continue to secondary school. One of the key factors contributing to this situation is inadequate public spending at the secondary level, constituting only 10 percent of the total state budget. The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan aims to address gender gaps, but its underutilization in Rajasthan raises concerns. One way to improve girls’ education is by eliminating fees in government schools, providing monetary incentives, and addressing the impact of COVID-19 on education. These are crucial steps to ensure universal access to secondary education for girls in Rajasthan.