‘Udaan’ gives rural girls wings to a better future

Project 'Udaan' connects rural girls with scholarship schemes and provides them with continuing access to schooling

But for a government scholarship scheme, 16-year-old Nisha Verma, who dreams of becoming a college professor, would have dropped out of school and been married by now. Her parents were not interested in spending money on her education.

A resident of Alai village in Alwar district's Rajgarh tehsil, Nisha availed of the pre-matric scholarship to complete her secondary education with the help of Udaan, a women's empowerment programme. Her father, a goat herder, told her that he would get her married if she failed in her class. Nisha took tuitions using the scholarship money and is at present studying in Class XI at Gyandeep School near her village.

“The Udaan team's guidance has helped me cross many hurdles; I love teaching and I want to make sure that girls don't quit their education,” said Nisha, while recounting her struggle to continue education in adverse circumstances.

For many more girls like Nisha in the rural areas, the possibility of dropping out of schools increased due to poverty during the pandemic.

Monika, a Class X student from Noor Nagar village in Kishangarh Bas tehsil, was asked by her family to stop going to school and instead be at her in-law’s place after her early marriage. The scholarship provided a safety net as Monika's teachers convinced her parents to allow her to study with the help of the bursary amount.

Despite difficult financial conditions, Monika's parents have since delayed her gauna [consummation of marriage at the marital home] and agreed to support her studies. Activists who made multiple visits to her house also sensitised the family about the dangers of early pregnancy. “They broke several myths, including how the chances of giving birth to a baby boy decline as the age of a woman increases,” Monika said.