Gargi Jain's Collector in Classroom reshapes tribal girls' schooling
Gargi Jain, Gujarat's Chhota Udepur district collector since February 2025, launched 'Collector in Classroom' weekly sessions to mentor tribal girls. The initiative has expanded to five Kanya Vidyalayas, reducing district dropout rates significantly and turning classrooms into spaces for personal gr
Key takeaways
- Gargi Jain began weekly classroom visits as district collector in February 2025 and created the Collector in Classroom program.
- The initiative mentors over 750 girls across five Kanya Vidyalayas in Chhota Udepur.
- District-level dropout numbers declined from about 9,000 in 2025 to about 5,500 in 2026, with 4,500 returning to school, a 39% overall drop.
- Among girls, dropout rates fell by roughly 60% within a year of the program.
- Sessions include life skills, confidence-building, legal rights, and practical guidance on careers and exams.
What Happened
In the tribal-dominated district of Chhota Udepur, Gujarat, Gargi Jain, a 2015-batch IAS officer, assumed the role of district collector in February 2025. She chose a classroom setting over the traditional office chair, sitting beside girls in government schools to listen and engage without the usual formal entourage. The initiative, named Collector in Classroom, involves weekly visits to girls’ schools across tribal blocks and aims to create an environment where students feel heard and valued. The program now directly mentors more than 750 girls across five Kanya Vidyalayas. Sessions cover life skills, confidence, legal rights, and broad topics from UPSC preparation to engineering, medicine, and police services. Jain also shared a personal childhood experience of inappropriate behavior on a bus to illustrate safety concepts and encourage speaking up.
The broader outcome reported by the publication shows notable improvements in school retention among the district’s children, especially girls, through combined government schemes and sustained outreach as part of this initiative.
Why It Matters
The approach shifts governance at the school level from inspection-focused visits to ongoing, trust-based engagement. By positioning classrooms as spaces for dialogue and empowerment, the program addresses underlying factors contributing to dropouts, such as poverty, early marriage, and lack of visible role models. In a setting where many girls are the first in their families to attend school, this sustained outreach is presented as a direct contributor to continued schooling and confidence-building, potentially influencing long-term educational and career aspirations for participants.
Background
Chhota Udepur was carved out of Vadodara district in 2013 and is noted for its tribal population, including the Rathva community. Prior to Jain’s initiative, dropout patterns in Gujarat’s tribal belt have been linked to poverty, early marriage, and limited access to role models. The district has previously seen other governance efforts aimed at retaining tribal children in government classrooms, including residential campuses in other regions, but Jain’s method emphasizes direct interaction with students in their regular school settings.
Key Facts
- Gargi Jain took charge as the district collector of Chhota Udepur in February 2025.
- The initiative under her leadership is called Collector in Classroom and involves weekly school visits.
- The program directly mentors more than 750 girls across five Kanya Vidyalayas.
- In 2025, about 9,000 children in Chhota Udepur dropped out of school; in 2026, this figure fell to about 5,500, with roughly 4,500 returning to classrooms, a drop of around 39% overall.
- Among girls, dropout rates fell by nearly 60% within a year of the initiative.
- Sessions cover life skills, confidence, legal rights, and queries about UPSC, engineering, medicine, and police services; Jain also shared a personal childhood incident to discuss safety and speaking up.
What Happens Next
The source describes ongoing weekly school visits and expansion within the district’s tribal blocks as part of Collector in Classroom. It does not specify future timelines beyond the described cadence and target of continuing engagement and mentorship for the participating girls.
Sources reviewed
Project Chintan independently synthesized and analyzed information cross-checked across the sources listed above.
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