PARC Udayan Shalini Fellowship Pilani -- A transformative programme for girls

Rajasthan has 3.7 million girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years. The incidence of girls’ dropping out of school is also quite significant in Rajasthan. In fact, half of the girls drop out at the secondary school because of several reasons, including societal pressure. Their dreams of getting higher education and becoming independent are sacrificed at the altar of cultural taboos, myths and traditions, that are passed on to one generation to the other. Traditionally, retaining a girl in school has high cost implication for families, especially when compared to a boy. Thus, a mere provision of resources for girls’ education would not ensure their participation in school unless a unique solution is devised, engaging with the family members at appropriate levels while inculcating a problem-solving attitude in the girls

BITSAA Alumni Trust has collaborated with Udayan Care, a Delhi-based non-profit organisation for implementation of a unique girls fellowship programme in Pilani, aimed at supporting education of girls enrolled in government schools. The programme aims at identifying meritorious girls from the marginalised communities and enroll them in the programme while providing financial support to deserving but needy girl students for continuing their education. The programme shall provide individual attention, counseling and grooming through personalised mentoring to girls for their overall mental and moral development while widening their horizon of knowledge on career choices, goal-setting, making career-paths for achieving these goals while making their parents a part of this crucial journey. The first cohort of fellowship will have 30-50 girls selected through a rigorous and time-tested mechanism called Need, Ambition and Talent (NAT) test. A unique feature of the Fellowship programme is the component of Mentoring. It follows a Pyramidal Structure of Mentoring where, fellows from schools are attached to mentor didis (USF alumni) and senior educationists, who act as Mentors. They motivate and guide the Fellows towards greater achievements and realizing their dreams and career decisions. After two years of receiving mentoring, our Fellows, when they complete school and go to colleges, they become peer mentors under the guidance of their mentors to the new identified fellows. The programme has already been implemented in 26 places in the country and has benefitted more than 12000 girls so far. Many of these girls have achieved their goals and have become successful doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, social workers and so on. We want to create similar impact in rural regions of Pilani

• 30 to 50 girls from marginalised communities enrolled in PARC Udayan Shalini Fellowship, ensuring a bright career and future
• Year on year, more girls will form part of this Fellowship programme, creating a ripple impact in the community while busting age-old traditions and myths regarding girl child education
• Educated and empowered girls will be able to contribute financially to their family income, thereby lifting families out of poverty
• Shalinis, who graduate out of this programme, will become role models for their community and other girls
• Regular mentorship programme will help these girls in overcoming the difficulties they face on day-to-day basis
• Regular engagement with the parents will create a dent in the age-old mindset and traditions, paving way for more and more girls to be part of senior secondary and higher education