Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The literacy ratio of India is 65.38% with MALE LITERACY at 75.85% and FEMALE LITERACY
at 54.16% Of the 193 million Children in the age group 6 to 14 years, 8.1 million children are
out of school as of Sept 2004 as per Government statistics.
Net primary enrollment ratio in 2001/02: 83 7%
Children reaching grade 5 in 2000/01: 59 8 %
Facts on Education
Less than half of India's children between the age 6 and 14 go to school.
A little over one-third of all children who enroll in grade one reach grade eight.
At least 35 million children aged 6 - 14 years do not attend school.
53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate.
In India, only 53% of habitation has a primary school.
In India, only 20% of habitation has a secondary school.
In nearly 60% of schools, there are less than two teachers to teach Classes I to V.
High cost of private education and need to work to support their families and little
interest in studies are the reasons given by 3 in every four drop-outs as the reason they
leave.
Dropout rates increase alarmingly in class III to V, its 50% for boys, 58% for girls.
1 in 40, primary school in India is conducted in open spaces or tents.
More than 50 per cent of girls fail to enroll in school; those that do are likely to drop out
by the age of 12. Source: 7th All India Education Survey, 2002
Data on Health
70 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their first birthday.
58% of India's children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated.
And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination.
74% of India's children below the age of 3 months are anemic.
Over 60% of children in India are anemic.
Of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million do not see their first birthday.
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Of the 12 million girls born in India, 3 million do not see their fifteenth birthday, and a
million of them are unable to survive even their first birthday.
One-third of these deaths take place at birth.
Every sixth girl child's death is due to gender discrimination.
Females are victimized far more than males during childhood.
3 lakh more girls than boys die every year
Female mortality exceeds male mortality in 224 out of 402 districts in India.
Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s Initatives with a Bal Mitra Gram (BMG), all
members of the village – children, parents, teachers and village heads, realize the constitutional,
legal, social and cultural rights of children and respect them in letter and spirit. Views of
children are provided a legitimate forum, and the importance of eradicating child labour and
enrolling all children of the village in schools is recognized and supported by all. The socio-
economic climate that forms the root of the vicious cycle of child labour, illiteracy and poverty
is countered by the realization that empowerment is not just about obtaining a ration or BPL
card; it is also about the recognition that everybody has the right to have their voices heard.
Approaches of Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan with a Bal Mitra Gram (BMG),
Society looks at children through a varied lens. Parents love and dote on their children.
However, this is usually limited to their children and does not extend to all children living in the
village. A village community may also be constrained by socio-economic restrictions such as
caste, religion and poverty or wealth.
This influences the parents’ psychology, their feeling of responsibility and their ethics and
attitudes towards other children, leaving room for exploitation and violence. A Bal Mitra Gram
on the other hand, realises that all children are the present and the future of the village. During
the process for establishing a BMG, the village starts to strive towards unconditional friendship
and propagates equality among all children of the village. The relationship of elders with
children should not be one of compassion but rather of friendship so that children can share
their problems with- out any hesitation. Social changes are brought about by and for children. A
Bal Mitra Gram looks at inclusion of all groups as a powerful tool in uplifting the poorest, most
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marginalized sections of society. This process is led by children, supported by women, youth,
elders, the Gram Panchayat and all other stakeholders.
• All children aged 6 to 18 are enrolled in school and in age appropriate class and completing
their elementary education
• All child labourers up to age 18 are withdrawn from work
• Children form a Bal Panchayat (an elected children’s village council)
• The Bal Panchayat receives official recognition by the Gram Panchayat
• A youth group (Yuva Mandal; aged 18 to 35 yrs.) and a women group (Mahila Mandal) are
also establishment and recognized and self-sustained A child Welfare Committee /Child
Protection committee (CWC/CPC) is formed and activated
• Better health management and facilities for children living in BMG
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Shri Niroti Lal Budhha Sansthan’s mission with Vitamin Angels
Vitamin Angels states that its mission is to help at-risk populations in need – specifically
pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five – gain access to lifesaving and life
changing vitamins and minerals.
“Social infrastructure like education is as important as physical infrastructure, not only for
sustaining high growth but also for enhancing welfare. The root of poverty often lies in
illiteracy.”
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