Where is My School?

Has the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme met its target to push for girls' education a decade after it was launched?

- Aranya Mukerji

On January 22, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood before the people of Panipat, and said: "I come as a beggar, begging for the lives of our daughters." India's child sex ratio had hit critical lows, a symptom of the deep-seated gender bias surrounding the girl child. The PM's speech marked the start of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)—a flagship scheme created to curb female foeticide and push for girls' education.

The national campaign was everywhere: stickers on auto-rickshaws, slogans on the backs of trucks, TV ads, billboards, even mobile phone dial tones. But ten years later, has the scheme actually met its target?

The BBBP campaign set out with clear objectives: curb the declining child sex ratio (CSR), enforce the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC & PNDT), increase girls' enrollment in schools, tackle dropout rates, and improve menstrual hygiene management. It promised financial incentives for families educating daughters, investments in school infrastructure, and dedicated task forces to prevent sex-selective abortions. With a fund allocation of Rs 848 crore between 2015 and 2022 (excluding the Covid years) and a collaborative effort involving the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Education, the initiative promised sweeping reforms.

However, an audit presented by the Committee on Empowerment of Women (CEW) in August 2022 revealed that of the total Rs 848 crore, only Rs 622.48 crore was released to the states, and only 25.13 per cent of that amount was actually expended. The report also found a lack of disaggregated data on how the funds were spent on critical interventions like education and health.