The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Here, girls are forced to leave studies after Class XII
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Devak (Rajouri), May 19
Sunita Kumari wanted to study in college but she couldn’t. After passing Class XII last year, Sunita was elated over her achievement of passing the examination, but her happiness was short-lived.

She wanted to pursue higher studies, but her parents refused. In the absence of any college nearby, Sunita’s father Om Prakash, who is a labourer, decided not to send her daughter to some distant place where she could pursue higher studies.

“I always wished to study after Class XII, but since the nearest college is in Nowshera or Akhnoor, which is more than 70 km away from here, my parents didn’t allow me to pursue higher studies. Instead of higher studies, my parents will force me to marry,” says Sunita.

Sunita is not the only girl who was forced to bid adieu to her studies after Class XII, there are hundreds of girls in the Devak area who are forced to leave studies in the absence of any college in the vicinity.

“The residents here can neither afford nor they are bold enough to send their daughters to the nearest college located at Nowshera and Akhnoor, both over 70 km away,” says Sham Lal, a local resident who works in the revenue department. “The government opened more than 40 colleges all across the state, but the establishment of these colleges was done without proper planning. Some of the colleges were set up by the government within a distance of 20-30 km whereas many colleges were established in areas with more than 70 km distance between them,” he adds.

The Devak area, which comprises Hathal, Sieya, Noti, Barnada, Nullah, Makole, Bandrai, Kantha, Una, Thangriot, Basantpur and Deoli villages, has a population of about 20,000, but there is no college in the area.

There is a higher secondary school in Devak, but once the students, mostly belonging to poor families, pass Class XII, it is a dead end for them so far as getting further education is concerned.

“We wish to educate our daughters so that they are socially and financially empowered, but since we are poor we cannot afford that. More than 40 girls pass Class XII each year from the school here, but only some well off people of our area can think of sending their daughters to college,” says Kaku Ram, a physically challenged, whose daughter Anita Kumari is studying in Class XII and may have to leave studies.