The Centre will implement the National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level in 21 states. In the Tenth Plan, over Rs 1,064 crore (Rs 10.64 billion) will be spent on the programme.
The NPEGEL will be implemented under the umbrella of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, but will have a distinct identity.
It will have full synergy with other children's and school programmes, such as the mid-day meal scheme and the school health programmes of the health department.
The states in which the programme will be implemented are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal.
The implementation of the NPEGEL programme will be at the block level. Blocks have been selected on the basis of female literacy rates, as provided in the 1991 Census.
Once the data for the 2001 Census is available, the selection of blocks will be modified accordingly. In all, about 2,200 blocks will benefit from this programme.
The blocks in which this programme is to be implemented are the educationally backward blocks where the level of rural female literacy is less than the national average and the gender gap is above the national average.
Also blocks in districts that are not EBBs but have at least a 5 per cent SC/ST population, and where SC/ST female literacy is below 10 per cent, have also been selected.
In addition, urban slums with poor female literacy will also be covered under this programme. In the selected blocks, villages have been organised into clusters of 10 each, and a girl-child-friendly school has been identified to cater to each cluster.
The school will be provided with additional facilities or infrastructure that includes teaching-learning equipment, books, games and vocational training. Training will be given for development of life skills among girl students.
Girls will get an incentive of up to Rs 150 per year to support them with textbooks, uniform, stationery, escort services etc. The programme lays great emphasis on community involvement in mobilisation, retention as well as monitoring.
It is seeking support of women's sanghas, mothers' committees, and parent-teacher associations. The efforts at the village level will be co-ordinated by a core group drawing from these existing groups and outside.
The other main interventions include awards to schools and teachers, bridge courses and alternative schooling.
Additionally, early childhood-care-centres are being opened in the identified blocks to meet gaps in the ICDS scheme and thus to relieve girls from the burden of sibling care.
The programme will also be supported by the National Open School, by way of waiving fees for girls, designing special courses and devising proper delivery systems.
