Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 31: The CAG report on the general and social sector presented in the Assembly by finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat for the year ended March 2014 has pulled up the state government for the declining child sex ratio, improper implementation of welfare schemes for girls and poor female literacy rate in the state.
“Children in the age group of 0-18 years constitute 36.52 per cent of the total population of Orissa of which 49.09 per cent are girls, according to the 2011 Census. However, the child sex ratio declined from 953 in 2001 to 941 in 2011,” said the CAG report.
“The literacy rate for females stood at 62.46 per cent in the state against the national rate of 65.46,” the report said.
“The mortality rates for girl children below five years age stood at 74, which exceeds the mortality rate of male children of 70 per 1,000 live births,” the report said.
“Calories/protein value of nutrition supplied was not determined to ensure nutritional security,” it said, adding that 14,651 girls were found to be “severely malnourished”. The CAG report said that though there is gender inequality in the state, gender-based data was not maintained under the Integrated Child Development Services platform to ensure 100 per cent coverage of children, especially girls, under the supplementary nutritional programme.
The CAG also expressed grave concern over 11,552 children of the state, including 8,246 girls, going missing from 2009-13.
On elementary education, the report pointed out, “Around 2516 primary/ upper primary schools did not have their own school buildings whereas 7,497 schools did not have separate toilets for girls.” Besides, 220 schools at the secondary level also lacked separate toilets for girls.
As many as 18,161 schools at the primary/ upper primary level and 2,201 schools at the secondary level do not have boundary walls.“Out of 17.80 lakh girls enrolled in Class 1 to IV during 2009-10, only 14.22 lakh girls were pursuing their studies in Class V to Class VII during 2013-14,” the report said.
The report pointed out that the transport department had not conducted fitness tests of 164 school buses and 10,541 auto-rickshaws during 2013-14.
“Out of 182 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, 52 did not have hostel buildings,” it said.