On 26 September 2021, children from Bal Mitra Gram in Mica Mining areas of Koderma and Giridih districts met with Mrs Annapurna Devi, State Education Minister, Government of India. The children especially from interior villages apprised the State Minister about the challenges faced by them on a day-to-day basis to attend schools.
The children shared that the interior forests and inaccessible terrains often force the girls to discontinue their education after middle school, as their parents fear their safety. Children have to travel through unguarded forest areas to reach the schools as public transport is scarce. More than 90% of the girls in these regions are forced to leave school before completing secondary education. The dropped out children are then forced into child marriages, child labour in mica mines, and often end as the victims of trafficking.
Close to 1368 children also drafted a set of suggestions on ensuring access to education, which were presented to the Minister.
The children during the discussions also advocated for the following solutions with the Minister:
- Upgrade the Middle Schools to Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools
- Sanction construction of a College with a hostel facility in Koderma and Giridhi district.
- Increase the number of seats in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
- Arrange public transportation facilities in interior villages without schools, so that children can attend schools in Tisri, Gawan, and Domchanch blocks.
- Amend the Right to Education Act, 2009 to extend the free and compulsory education till class XIIth.
