Increasing Women’s Enrolment through Educational Institutions - The West Bengal Experience - National Consultation on December, 2013 Bhubaneswar, Orissa.

Policy Interventions Situation Analysis to understand Roll Gender Deficit in respect of each Assembly Constituency and all Polling Stations Distributing form #6 to all young potential electors during House-to-House pre-Revision activity by BLOs, including potential women electors Ensuring Inclusion of all potential young electors in the educational institutions of the state, in particular girl students Focused interventions to minimize gender gaps in age electors Deploying Mass mobilization Strategies

Framework of Implementation Sharing the goal of 100% inclusion of female students in educational institutions as one of the primary focus areas of present SRER activity Distribution of form#6 to eligible students including female students and incisive day-to-day monitoring of form#6 submission by DEOs & EROs. BLOs were asked to coordinate with Nodal Officers of educational institutions Step-by-Step Operational Guidelines framed and shared with Heads of educational institutions for registration of students, including girl students Partnership developed with the Department of Higher Education which issued administrative instructions to district officials for their involvement and participation in the registration program Identification of Nodal Officers in educational institutions and their training by EROs: List of Nodal Officers uploaded in district websites Implementation of Voters’ Help Desk in educational institutions

Women Registration in Educational Institutions Names of Nodal Officers being displayed in website of SDM, Chandannagar Name of the College Name of the Nodal Officer with Designation Mobile Number Chandernagore Govt. College Smt. Basabi Pal (Ghosh), Asstt. Professor Women’s Polytechnic College, Chandernagore Dr. Kamala Kanta Ray, Asstt. Professor Khalisani MahavidyalayaSri Sumanta Niyogi, Asstt. Professor Sukanta CollegeSri Prabir Karmakar, Asstt. Professor

Voters’ Help Desk Voters’ Help Desks were activated in all educational institutions to facilitate distribution of forms, sharing of relevant information and submission of forms from prospective electors, including women electors

Drop Boxes While Voters’ Help Desks functioned as Voters’ Registration Centre for enrolment of eligible electors, in particular female electors, in educational institutions, Drop Boxes were placed to facilitate collection of filled-in form #6, form # 001 with photographs and feedbacks from the students

Mass Mobilization Initiatives: Strategic Interventions in Educational Institutions  Drawing Competition titled “Our Polling Stations” held on the Teachers’ Day on during Summary Revision Campaign, 2014 in Polling Stations  Quiz Competitions in institutions of higher education on the Second Campaign Day immediately after BLO-BLA meetings on  Formation of Human Chains by SHG members at the High Schools, which are also Polling Stations, on the First Campaign Day on

Mass Mobilization Initiatives: Drawing Competitions 46,207 Students participated in the Drawing Competition in 4,369 Polling Stations. Among them, 24,479 were girl students.

Drawing Competitions: Drawing by Students

Mass Mobilization Initiatives: Quiz Competitions 3,03,652 Students participated in the Quiz Competitions held in 36,096 schools. The enthusiasm among the female students was truly inspiring.

Mass Mobilization Initiatives: SHG members forming Human Chains 1,86,565 SHG members mobilized at 18,343 educational institutions – cum- Polling Stations to celebrate the ritual of democracy through electoral registration activities. Obviously, all the SHG members who got enrolled were mothers and sisters of those learning in educational institutions.

Best Practices Some Glimpses

Information –Motivation-Facilitation Strategies for Prospective Women Electors In Blocks affected with left-wing-extremism, voters’ education messages were integrated into development initiatives like distribution of cycles to girl students and identification of beneficiaries under Kanyashree Programme.

Best Practices of Bankura district Enrolment Drive of girl students at Onda Mahavidyalaya In a special initiative, the College witnessed 100% Enrolment of all eligible women electors during Continuous Updation of Electoral Roll, 2013 through a concerted effort of BLO, Nodal Officer of the College and a staff of the local Block administration who remained attached with the college for a continuous stretch of one month liaisoning with the ERO. Besides being enrolled, the girl students of the college went beyond the precincts of the college and induced students of neighboring educational institutions for registration.

Best Practices of Bankura district Convergence Initiative with Sarva Shiksha Mission Messages of electoral registration were integrated in notebooks published by Sarva Shiksha Mission (SSM), Bankura for inmates of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) inculcating ideas of democratic participation from childhood along with motivating guardians to get enrolled in Electoral Rolls

Best Practices of Hooghly district Focussed interventions in Colleges at Chandannagar Sub-Division 100% Inclusion of all eligible students including girl students in colleges of Chandannagar Sub-division of Hooghly district

Best Practices of Hooghly district Focussed interventions in Colleges at Arambagh A special enrolment drive was initiated by SDM & ERO, Arambagh AC in Arambagh Girls’ College. During the Summary Revision Campaign, all the potential electors, including girl students, were enrolled. SDM along with ERO, 201 Goghat AC summarily disposed all applications on the spot by checking relevant documents of eligible girl students. Similar experience was replicated in other colleges of the sub- division by BDOs and AEROs.

Best Practices of Hooghly district Introducing Facebook Page A Facebook Page was introduced by SDM and ERO, Chandannagar AC to open dialogue with young students of colleges & for creating awareness of registration process. The Facebook Page was meticulously updated by the ERO and AEROs. Chandernagore-Hooghly/ https:// Chandernagore-Hooghly/ )

Best Practices of Hooghly district Mass Mobilization Initiatives at Colleges : Rallies were organized by Women’s Polytechnique College and Chandannagar Government College, attended by EROs and AEROs in Hooghly district.

Impact of Interventions There has been an appreciable increase in the State Gender Ratio in the Draft Electoral Rolls, 2014 as compared to previous year Significant increase in enrolment of women in age group

Impact Of Implementation 99,955 form #6 distributed at educational institutions 88,671 filled in form #6 were returned to Nodal Officers of the institutions Out of these, 57,636 form #6 belonged to girl students Total Form # 6 submitted in educational institutions Total Form # 6 submitted in educational institutions from girl students

Impact Of Implementation: Focused Interventions There have been instances of focused interventions for enrolment of all girl students in the educational institutions in the districts AC No & Name Gender Ratio as per Draft Roll, 2014 Form # 6Gender Ratio of new enrolments based on Form # 6 Submitted MaleFemaleTotal 185, UTTARPARA , SREERAMPUR , CHANDITALA , JANGIPARA

Impact Of Implementation Bankura district witnessed an increase of 74 % over the Draft Roll figures of age female electors

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