The St John’s Old Boys’ Association (SJOBA) and students of the school have taken up the cause of saving the girl child and have also dedicated the school’s golden jubilee year to protect and save their female counterparts. The effort stands out, as it is an all boys’ school that has decided to eradicate the social evil of female foeticide.

The decision to take up the initiative came through during a meeting held in November by Brother Phillip Pinto, who is the head of the Christian Brother Rice Order worldwide.

The states of Punjab and Haryana are notorious for their skewed sex ratio. While Haryana has 864 females for 1000 men, Punjab lags far behind with 783 women for 1000 men.

“We felt the impact will be more profound if the issue is taken by young boys and men. So it was agreed upon in the meeting that the students as well as the alumni would work for it. And this being the golden jubilee year, we wanted to dedicate it to the noble cause,” said Manmohan Sareen, founding president, SJOBA.

So, the morning assembly these days are all about the girl child. “We hold debates, seminars and discussions on the significance of having a girl child. The same has been included in the syllabus and a special period is also earmarked for the cause. It is important to gender sensitise future fathers and schools are an excellent platform,” said a teacher of the school.

Students of Class VI onwards are involved in the project, as part of which they are creating awareness in different sections of the society. “I did not understand the seriousness of the issue till I became a part of the campaign. As socially aware and responsible citizens, we need to rise up to this evil at the earliest,” said a student of class XI.

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