JOIN USThe Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat is planning to install sanitary pad burners in all 651 government higher primary schools in the district.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will be involved in the project.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, SSA district project Co-ordinator Shivaprakash said that if the burners are installed in all schools, then DK may become the first district in the country to take up such an initiative.
Laila Gram Panchayat had shown the way for others by setting up a sanitary pad burner unit at Karnody Dakshina Kannada Higher Primary School last year. After that, the zilla panchayat, in association with the SSA, decided to set up units in six higher primary schools and 25 high schools. At Karnody, a manual burner was installed in a separate chamber next to the ladies toilet.
He said “the unit cost will vary depending on the type of the toilet and is between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000. Special toilets have been constructed for children with special needs in all the higher primary schools. The electric burner will be installed in the special toilets. As we do not get any special grant from the government for the purpose, we only mobilise the available resources to install the burners,” he added.
He said “the burner will help to solve the problem of blockage in toilets. There has been positive response for the burners from the members of School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) and school authorities.”
School drop outs survey
A five-day survey of school dropouts will be held under SSA from December 12.
He said “the photo of children not attending school will be taken and will be preserved in data base. The photographs will help officials in tracking them.
Till last year we were not collecting the photographs during the survey,” he added.
Last year, as many as 137 school dropouts were identified during the survey and 115 of them have been readmitted. The remaining have migrated from the district. Among school dropouts, 57 children are staying in ‘Chinnara Thangudhama’ in Mangalore and 58 are admitted to a residential school started under the SSA in Belthangady this year.
“Under the SSA, we have a software to track children admitted to schools and the photographs will help us to track children of labourers moving out of the district. If a student was not attending classes for two months, then he or she will be considered as a dropout,” he added.