Jaipur: Neelam Yadav, principal of Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Tapukara in Khairtal-Tijara district, is set to receive the prestigious national award from the President in New Delhi on Teacher’s Day, Friday.Over the past four years, her dedicated efforts led to a remarkable increase in school enrolment, growing from 622 to over 1,300 students, particularly in the Muslim-dominated Mewat region. Yadav emphasises her mission to inspire young girls to dream big and gain empowerment through education.“I joined this school in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, when people were scared to send their children to school and being in the Mewat region, ensuring that girls come to school was an added challenge. With regular counselling of students and parents along with online education, I was able to increase the enrolment and maintain the student strength,” said Yadav.Taking support from Honda India Foundation through corporate social responsibility, Yadav spearheaded the development of the school with dedicated space for extracurricular activities, sports, digital labs, smart classes, and laboratories among other facilities. Along with infrastructural development, with the Foundation’s support, Yadav also ensured that professional counsellors are deployed in nearby areas for counselling parents to send their girls to school.Post-pandemic, mothers in each household were counselled and explained the importance of girl child education. Yadav said that she herself went to parents and spoke with them to assure them that the students would be safe.“We first worked on developing a safe environment in and around the school, so that parents feel more comfortable sending girls to school. Two security guards were deployed at the school; CCTV cameras were installed in every classroom and the school compound. We made parents visit the school to check the safety measures themselves, as safety is a major reason for young girls being kept away from education,” she added.Now with steady enrolment in the school, the focus is on ensuring that girls are empowered to dream big and chase them too.“A girl who dropped out of school in between for one and a half years completed her class 12 this year and is now preparing for civil services. Another student of mine cracked NEET-UG this year. My focus is to make sure that whatever the girls want to pursue, they are able to do so,” said Yadav.
