20L girls to benefit from free sanitary pads scheme

Lucknow: After the Supreme Court declared menstrual health a fundamental right and mandated free sanitary napkin pad access for girls in schools, the state govt on Wednesday made a budgetary allocation of Rs 300 crore towards it, thereby ensuring dignity, health and equality for girls. Close to 20 lakh girls studying in schools are expected to benefit from the decision."Girls miss school because of period poverty and this absenteeism continues for long. To ensure girls attend school regularly, free sanitary napkins will be provided. This will be the first time an institutional arrangement to provide sanitary pads is made. The move will also help in curbing dropouts," said an official.
In another significant step to provide employment opportunities to students who pursued vocational education along with academics in secondary schools, govt decided to establish dream skill lab clusters in each district in collaboration with a private partner.These DREAM (Design, Robotics, Electronics, and Additive Manufacturing) labs will come up in govt secondary schools with an estimated budget of Rs 150 crore. The proposed areas in which job roles/trades will be offered include design and innovation; computer-aided machining; AR&VR and industrial robotics; AI and Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT); additive manufacturing and drones; automobile and battery EV; plumbing and courses in other ODOP-based trades.The aided secondary schools will undergo safety audits that will evaluate their physical infrastructure, security procedures and safety policies required to ensure a secure learning environment. It will also identify hazards, check compliance with regulations (such as fire safety and building codes) and cover areas such as surveillance, staff background checks, and emergency procedures. For this, a budgetary allocation of Rs 4.5 crore was made.