Pillar: Education & Training
A Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) is a free residential institution for girls from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minority, and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. KGBVs are sited in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where rural female literacy is below the national average (46.13%, Census 2001) and in Aspirational Districts. Within eligible blocks, 75% of seats go to SC/ST/OBC/minority girls and 25% to BPL girls, with priority for areas with high concentration of these communities and out-of-school girls. KGBVs follow four types under Samagra Shiksha — Type I (Classes VI-VIII), Type II (VI-X) and Type III (VI-XII) are residential schools with hostel; Type IV is a Girls' Hostel for Classes IX-XII attached to existing schools. KGBVs provide full board -- tuition, hostel, meals, textbooks, uniforms, and stationery -- at zero cost. They serve girls who would otherwise drop out due to distance, safety, poverty, or family pressure. Each KGBV operates as a direct component of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
If you are a girl from a marginalised family in a backward block and need a place where you can study with free boarding, this is the institution designed for that. If you know girls who dropped out of school, KGBVs accept out-of-school and never-enrolled girls.
- Free residential education with full board at zero cost to the family, covering Classes 6-12 - Admission priority: 75% seats for SC/ST/OBC/minority girls, 25% for BPL families, with focus on out-of-school girls and dropouts - Self-defence training under Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan - Menstrual hygiene management including sanitary pad vending and hygiene education - Bridge courses for out-of-school girls to reach grade-appropriate levels - Scholarship facilitation through the National Scholarships Portal (NSP) for pre-matric and post-matric applications - Health check-ups and counselling on continuing education and career options - National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF)-aligned vocational courses for Classes 9-12 with employability-skill modules (communication, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), self-management, entrepreneurial, green skills), extended to KGBVs under the Vocationalisation of Secondary Education component of Samagra Shiksha - Monthly stipend for each girl student (as a KGBV recurring-cost line item under Samagra Shiksha; rupee amount set through state Annual Work Plan and Budget) - Safety, security and living conditions per Samagra Shiksha KGBV strategy: minimum living space for each girl approximately 40 sq ft excluding kitchen, toilet and other common space; warden, teaching and support staff all female; child safety posters, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) E-Box details, School Safety Pledge and Child helpline number on display in prominent locations of the hostel; guest register recording every visitor; watchman present 24 hours
Portal: udiseplus.gov.in -- filter by school management type and category for KGBVs with Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) codes Also: Ask the Block Education Officer in any Educationally Backward Block for the KGBV address and warden contact
For what this looks like in a particular district, start from the district courses or the English reference guide (Hindi).