According to Census 2001, Kishanganj is least female literate district of the country and only 18 per cent of girls are educated. In fact, the situation is still more or less same and the percentage of female literacy has not increased satisfactorily over the years. Like other areas of the country, a number of education schemes are running in the district, but the outcome is not encouraging. Negligence of the parents is one of the prime reasons behind the low literacy rate, but many government education schemes are not reaching to rural areas of the district. The other reasons are the orthodoxy prevailing in the community with regard to girl children, poverty and ignorance.
For boys there are two high schools, one degree college and many middle and primary schools in the district headquarters. On the other hand, for girls there is only one government recognised girl's school and one non-government woman's college. Apart from the district headquarters, not a single government recognised girl's high school and college exist in other major suburbs like Bahadurganj, Sontha and Thakurganj. Residents of Bahadurganj, Sontha and Thakurganj had established a girl's school about two decades ago, but even today these schools are waiting for recognition from the government.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme is a special scheme for girls of rural areas, but the people of Kishanganj are unaware of the scheme. Despite being the least female literate district in the country, not a single school has been launched under this project. So far 28,000 SSA centres had been opened across the district under nation literacy drive for the 14-35 age groups of illiterate masses but 1.5 lakh children continued to be deprived of this fundamental right. Over 60 lakh children continued to be deprived of school education across Bihar. Of this, 2.60 lakh belonged to this district alone.
Despite the reports of the spread of Madarsas in districts such as Purnia, Kishanganj, Araria and Katihar, the educational scenario is dismally bleak. Girl children in these areas are withdrawn even from madarsas as soon as they reach the age of 10. The Madarsas fail to arouse ambition for modern education and that while government madarsas have included subjects like physics, chemistry and even computers; private madarsas are still confined to teaching religion.
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