Students from a number of city schools joined hands to create awareness about the importance of educating the girl child by taking part in a walkathon jointly organised by the Aakriti Foundation and Vijay Shanthi Builders at Marina Beach on Saturday.
Around 350 students from Aakriti, the girls forum of the College of Engineering, Guindy, and school students from Avvai Home and AMM Matriculation Higher Secondary School covered the stretch from Gandhi Statue to MGR Memorial after taking a pledge to spread the message. Carrying placards that bore the dismal statistics on women’s literacy, the youngsters underlined the urgent need to address school dropout rates,
T Abinaya, president of Aakriti and final year ECE student, said, “Education is a basic necessity for women. It gives them confidence to tackle problems. We wanted the girls here to take note of its importance and also prevent others from discontinuing their studies.”
Some of the school students, who braved the hot sun to show their support for the walkathon, did take home the message.
R Meenalochini, a Class 9 student of AMM School, said, “I learnt that girls and women can lead an independent life if they study what they like. It makes a great difference.”