[sustran] Re: Bicycles and literacy in India

[ravi gadepalli]

There was a similar initiative in Tamil Nadu a few years back. I dont have the exact statistics of the dropouts after that but I remember reading news articles on how these free bicycles were later sold to the same organisation which was responsible for distributing them. Presumably these are families whose household income is so low that they are willing to sell the bicycle for Rs. 1000-1500 at the cost of their child's future. 

While I agree with the idea of distributing bicycles as a method of empowering women/girls, I just want to bring to your notice that there are instances of politicians using this along with other freebies before elections. In such cases there are no proper guidelines to ensure that they are actually given to people who need them the most. 

Hence, such projects need to be properly monitored both for the intentions behind them and also to ensure that the people who are benefiting use them properly.

Ravi Gadepalli,
iTrans Pvt. Ltd.,
IIT Delhi, New Delhi.

--- On Sat, 4/6/11, ashok datar <datar.ashok at gmail.com> wrote:

From: ashok datar <datar.ashok at gmail.com>
Subject: [sustran] Re: Bicycles and literacy in India
To: "Lloyd Wright" <lwright at vivacities.org>
Cc: "Sustran" <sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
Date: Saturday, 4 June, 2011, 9:54 AM

yes . focussing on providing bikes to girls is a high yield investment in
empowerment of women and sustainable mobility for people and countries.
it is great and worth continuously tracking, improving and replicating
ashok datar

On Sat, Jun 4, 2011 at 1:18 AM, Lloyd Wright <lwright at vivacities.org> wrote:

>
> http://www.grist.org/list/2011-06-02-how-bicycles-are-solving-illiteracy-and
> -empowering-women-in-indi
>
>
> How bicycles are fighting illiteracy and empowering women in India
>
>
> by Jess Zimmerman <http://www.grist.org/people/Jess+Zimmerman>
>
> 2 Jun 2011 9:23 AM
>
> The Indian state of Bihar has only a 33 percent literacy rate for women --
> the lowest in the country. But the state government, headed by Chief
> Minister Nitish Kumar, is turning education for girls around -- with
> bicycles. In 2007 Kumar instituted a plan
> <
> http://alttransport.com/2011/06/india-empowers-students-with-free-bicycles/
> >  to give schoolgirls money to buy bicycles once they successfully
> complete
> Class 8 (eighth grade). With girls now able to easily get themselves to
> school, Bihar swelled its Class 9 enrollment by 170,000 in the program's
> first year.
>
> The state gave out 871,000 bikes in its first three years, and dropouts
> among girls have dropped from 2.5 million to 1 million per year. The
> program
> has been so successful that other states in India are launching similar
> initiatives, and Bihar is expanding the program to include boys too.
>
> Viva
>
> Changing the world.one street at a time.
>
>
>
> Lloyd Wright
>
> Executive Director
>
> 6 Solan Road
>
> Gardens
>
> Cape Town 8001
>
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>
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>
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>
> Email Lwright at vivacities.org
>
> Web www.vivacities.org <http://www.vivacities.org/>
>
>
>
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-- 
Ashok R.Datar
Mumbai Environmental Social Network
20 Madhavi, Makarand Society, S.V.S.Marg, Mahim-400 016
98676 65107/0222 444 9212 see our website : www.mesn.org

* I hear, then I forget.  I see, then I remember. I do, then I understand.*
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SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South').