Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (MoHRD Scheme), female literacy programme, details

A Sarv Siksha Abhiyan project for rural female literacy

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) were running under the Scheme Sarva Shikha Abhiyan (SSA) as residential schools at an upper primary level for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Under the newly launched Integrated Scheme of School Education-Samagra Shiksha, effective from the year 2018-19, provision has been made to upgrade the existing KGBVs at an upper primary level to up to senior secondary level with a capacity of 150-250 girls in convergence with the erstwhile Girls Hostel Scheme.

The scheme willing to provide access and quality education to girls from disadvantaged groups by setting up residential schools from upper primary to senior secondary level and to ensure smooth transition of girls from elementary to secondary and up to class XII wherever possible by ensuring the facility of at least one residential school for girls from classes VI-XII in every Educationally Backward Blocks.

There are 3703 KGBVs in the country which were sanctioned under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), out of which 3697 KGBVs are operational, enrolling 3.78 lakh girls. Out of the total of the 2549 Girls Hostels sanctioned under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), 1314 Girls Hostels are functional enrolling 1.20 lakh girls.

The scheme was applicable since inception in 2004, in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the rural female literacy is below the national average (46.13%: Census 2001) and the gender gap in literacy is more than the national average (21.59%: Census 2001).