It seems like the popular 'Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao' slogan that we all love to chant doesn’t cover all the young girls that need it. There is a serious shortage of secondary (Class 9 and 10) and senior secondary schools (Class 11 and 12) for girls in India.

Data shows that in 2015-16, for every 100 primary schools (Class 1 to 8) there are only 14 secondary and 6 senior secondary schools.

This shortage of schools ruins the future of lakhs of girls in India. They are forced to dropout and become child brides or teenage mothers, with a host of health problems.

As a self-confident, educated woman who got to go to college, I want to ensure that every girl in India has a school to go to. Sign my petition asking the Congress and the BJP to make this a priority in their 2019 election manifestos.

#MoreSchoolsForGirls

When we’re in a position to help someone less privileged than us, the first instinct for many of us is to ask two questions: If the person has children, and if those children go to school. Because we know that education is important. Especially to break cycles of poverty and disadvantage.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act made it compulsory for children between the age of 6 and 14 to get free education. But after 14 years of age, which is usually class 8 or 9, the dropout rates begin to increase. Especially for girls.

Aside from the lack of senior secondary and secondary schools, girls also dropout because schools don’t have separate toilets for boys and girls and by the age of 14, most of them hit puberty. Another reason for higher dropout rates of girls is safety. All of these issues can be addressed by more schools for girls!

Sign my petition to make the political parties contesting in the 2019 General Elections commit in their manifestos to increasing the number of secondary and senior secondary schools for girls in the country.

The RTE Act was a huge step forward in making sure girls got equal educational opportunities to boys. But when girls reach secondary education levels, the dropout rate of girls increases to about 30% and by class 11, it’s around 57%.

The number of schools also reduce sharply beyond primary school. In 2015-16, for every 100 schools offering classes 1 to 7, only 14 offered secondary level classes 9 and 10 and - even less -  6 offered senior secondary level classes 11 and 12.

When we understand how important education is, how can we stand by and watch the future women leaders of our country fall by the wayside because of inadequate schools?

Sign my petition and together, we can convince our politicians that this is the time to prioritize the education of girls. In 2019, whoever comes to power, school-age girls must win!

#SheVotes2019
#MoreSchoolsForGirls