Jharkhand continues to record high dropout rates among adolescent girls despite efforts by the state government and civil society organisations. This is largely due to multiple factors such as high prevalence of poverty, migration, child marriage, burden of unpaid care work, and more. To address this issue, Aangan Trust, a Delhi-based organisation, with their primary focus on children’s safety and protection, started their school safety interventions in Jharkhand. Aangan began its work in Pakur in 2018 and later expanded to Dumka and Jamtara, currently covering around 350 schools across the three districts. Rooted in community engagement and systemic advocacy, the model recognises the school as a critical site for both learning and protection, linking regular school attendance to the broader idea of safety and agency for girls. The initiatives include mechanisms such as attendance tracking, involvement of community women volunteers, School Safety Committees (SSCs), and peer safety networks.
This study evaluates the impact of Aangan’s initiatives and aims to determine which interventions are effective, for whom they are effective, and the underlying factors that explain how and why they work. The study also seeks to understand the thresholds and reasons behind school dropouts, as well as the factors that enable students to continue their education. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, including a review of state- and district-specific school education indicators, analysis of Aangan’s attendance tracking data, focus group discussions with students, women volunteers, and community members, interviews with school headmasters and teachers, and a detailed school resource mapping exercise.