Addressing educational opportunities for rural Kanjars

Little is documented on educational schemes helping the marginalized Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in rural India. This study documents new avenues of addressing social and gender inequality within the ethnic community of Kanjars through education and improvements in hygiene. Pardada Pardadi Educational Society (PPES) is an innovative NGO providing education to girls from lower castes in Uttar Pradesh. In a project created to engage Kanjar girls, PPES made use of a targeted incentive, a solar lantern, to reward girls with good school attendance as well as to address one of the local community’s needs, that of a clean and cost effective lighting source. This study analyzes the attendance rates of girls before and after the introduction of solar lanterns. In addition, surveys and interviews provide qualitative insights. The overall findings reveal that girls with a solar lantern not only attain higher average attendance but also take ownership of their education.