Name ______________________________ Core _________ Date ________________________
A Free Ride to School
ninth grade," said Singh. "This was primarily because
there are fewer high schools, and girls had to travel
longer distances to get to school."
Nahid's high school, for example, is four miles
from her home. Her daily bus fare was an additional
burden that her father Mohammed Shiraz Ahmad, a car
mechanic, could not afford.
"I wouldn't have been able to keep [Nahid] in school
for long," said Ahmad.
In 2007, hoping to offer a solution to young
girls like Nahid who might otherwise forgo their
PATNA, India For Indian teen Nahid Farzana,
education when faced with long, costly trips to high
the daily trip to high school was so long and so
school, the Bihar state government initiated a program
expensive that she saw no alternative to dropping out.
that provides free bicycles to girls entering the ninth
Then, she received a bicycle as part of a government
grade. Families must apply to take part in the program.
program, and everything changed. Now, Nahid is
However, the only requirement is to maintain an
about to graduate from high school, with plans to
attendance rate of 75 percent or better. School
become a teacher.
administrators monitor whether girls use their bicycles
For the Indian government, bicycles have
turned out to be a fairly simple solution to a major
or sell them and leave school.
Five years in, the program has proven
problem. For years, officials in Bihar—one of India's
successful. In remote villages, groups of school girls
poorest and least developed states—have despaired
can be seen cheerfully bicycling to school. Thanks to
over how to educate its teenage girls. In India, the 53
the program, the number of ninth-grade girls registered
percent literacy rate for girls is more than 20 points
in Bihar's high schools has more than tripled. It went
worse than the rate for boys. This is due in large part to
from 175,000 in 2007 to 600,000 in 2012.
the fact that many girls live far away from their high
schools. Poor families, like many in Bihar, cannot
afford to spend money on cars or public transportation.
Some families are also reluctant to let girls travel so far
away, fearing for their safety.
Anjani Kumar Singh is Bihar's principal
"The results are remarkable; the school dropout
rate for girls has plunged," said Singh.
"[The bicycle program] has worked very well,"
said Syeda Hameed, an Indian government official.
The results in Bihar were so encouraging that
the program is now expanding. Neighboring states
secretary overseeing education. "We found that the
have implemented similar programs. The Indian
high school dropout rate soared when girls reached the
government is considering implementing the program
across the country, in hopes of improving literacy rates
education and opportunities, girls are considered assets
among its high school girls.
to their families.
The program has also had secondary benefits.
Nizhat Parveen is a 16-year-old from a village in
In addition to causing dropout rates to plunge, the
Bihar. For Nizhat, her bicycle is her proudest
program has also raised the social status of Indian
possession—one that has allowed her to dream of
girls, who are often seen as a burden to their families.
greater things.
In many Indian families, parents have to pay hefty
dowries to marry off their daughters, and often remain
"Even college doesn't seem far away now,"
Nizhat said.
in debt for decades. Now, more and more, with more
Dictionary
asset (noun)
dowry (noun)
somebody or something that is useful or valuable
money, goods, or property that a bride's family gives to the groom's family at the
time of marriage in some societies
status (noun)
rank or position
Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the choice the best completes the statement. (2 points each)
1. According to the article, why do many ninthgrade girls in Bihar drop out of school?
A. Because Bihar's officials have long
despaired over how to educate the state's
teenage girls
B. Because parents in India marry off their
C. Hefty Dowries Remain Part of Marriage
Traditions in Remote Indian Villages
D. Transportation Costs High, Incomes Low in
India's Most Undeveloped State
4. Which two words from the article are the closest
synonyms?
daughters, a custom that involves the
A. Solution and alternative
payment of hefty dowries
B. Benefit and asset
C. Because the literacy rate for Indian boys is
20 percent higher than the literacy rate for
Indian girls
D. Because it's expensive for girls in remote
Indian villages to travel the long distances to
their schools
2. Based on information in the article, the reader
can predict that __________.
A. Sixteen-year-old Nizhat Parveen will
probably decide to open her own bicycle
repair shop in Bihar, India.
B. By 2020, the literacy rate for boys in India
will probably drop below 53 percent.
C. By 2020, the literacy rate for girls in India
will probably exceed 53 percent.
D. Mohammed Shiraz Ahmad will probably
C. Dowry and requirement
D. Literacy and status
5. The author's purpose for writing this article was
probably to __________.
A. Persuade readers to donate cash to help
educate girls in one of India's poorest states
B. Recruit volunteers to help build high
schools in remote villages of India's most
undeveloped state
C. Question whether hefty marriage dowries
should be outlawed in India
D. Inform readers about a program designed to
keep Indian girls from dropping out of
school
6. Which question is not answered by the article?
A. How has the bicycle program in Bihar
quit his job as a car mechanic when Nahid
affected the dropout rate for girls in the
graduates from high school.
state?
3. The best alternate headline for this article would
be __________.
A. Bicycle Program Succeeds in Reducing
Dropout Rates for Girls in Bihar
B. Despite Challenges, Girl From One of
India's Poorest States Becomes a Teacher
B. How much would it cost the state of Bihar
to build a high school in a remote village?
C. How has receiving a bicycle affected the
educational goals of 16-year-old Nizhat?
D. How does the literacy rate for Indian boys
compare to the literacy rate for Indian
girls?
7. Which of these is not important to include in a
8. The article states: The results in Bihar were so
summary of this article?
encouraging that the program is now expanding.
A. Because the daily trip to high school is long
Neighboring states have implemented similar
and expensive, many girls in India drop out
programs. Which would be the closest antonym
of school in the ninth grade.
for the word implemented?
B. Because they have to pay hefty dowries to
A. Financed
marry off their daughters, the parents of
B. Canceled
Indian girls are often in debt for decades.
C. Endorsed
C. In hopes of keeping girls in school, the state
D. Analyzed
government of Bihar started a program that
provides free bicycles for girls to ride to
school.
D. Since the Bihar state government started the
bicycle program, the number of ninth-grade
girls registered in high school has increased.
Opinion Question: What do you think should countries do whatever it takes to keep kids in school?
Math Question: The number of ninth-grade girls in Bihar's schools was 175,000 in 2007. It was 600,000 in
2012. What is the percent increase in ninth-grade girls between 2007 and 2012? Choose the closest answer.
A. 342.9%
B. 291.7%
C. 141.2%
D. 242.9%
Thought Question: Write a summary of today's article.