Youth Incorporated Magazine

Kanchanwada village in the Kota district of Rajasthan has been granted an upper primary school for grandmothers, by the government. The school ‘Matri Gyan Kendra’ was officially launched on October 30 and allows only women above the age of 40 to enroll. The idea for Matri Gyan Kendra stemmed from Kota MP Om Birla, and Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (CFCL).

CFCL’s corporate social responsibility manager Vikas Bhati told Hindustan Times that the women will get a uniform, stationery, and other facilities from the company’s CSR fund. Classes are held in the evenings from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm so that they don’t interfere with regular school timings.

The school was started with the aim of increasing literacy rate among females, which currently stands at 65% according to a recent census. An orthodox mindset towards women, preference for male children and the still prevalent female infanticide in certain rural areas are among factors that can be attributed to this lag in female literacy.

The government plans to open up four more such education centres in the district to tackle the literacy problem at hand. “A literate woman can persuade the children in the family for literacy in a more effective manner so the education of elderly women is also necessary to ensure the goal of complete literacy in the society”, Birla told Hindustan Times.