Girl Education in India – A Sad Picture

Women or girl education in India plays a very important role in the economic and social development of the country. It is commonly said ‘Educate a Woman and you educate a family.’ Hence, education is not only important for the upliftment of woman but also for improving the quality of life of a family. An educated woman supports education of her own girl child, and provides better guidance to all her children. An educated woman is a role model for her children. She imbibes progressive and independent outlook in them. Moreover, educated women help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population.

Inspite of knowing the benefits of educating a woman, India holds a sad picture of girl education in the country. India has one the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. One most common cause is the biased outlook towards the girl child. Most of the people feel that a girl is a liability who will be married off and will not contribute to the economic prosperity of a family. They feel that a woman is destined to perform her traditional role of housekeeping and cooking where training at home is more important than formal education.

Another factor responsible for uneducated girls is the population growth. People in economically backward areas believe in giving birth to a number of children to increase their earning capacity. When they find difficult to fulfill the needs of children, in such situations, the needs of a girl child are first neglected. Child marriage is also an impediment in women education. Marriage of a girl is given more important than her education.

Besides social causes, the loopholes in the education system are also responsible for the same. Lack of adequate number of schools, shortage of teachers, lack of school infrastructure such as drinking water and toilets are some of the loopholes.

However, the government of India has been making several efforts to improve the condition of women education. The Right to Education has been made a fundamental right in India. On April 01, 2010, the Indian Constitution was amended to include compulsory, free, and elementary education to children between the age group of 6-14 years. The government has introduced the free mid-day meal scheme across the country. The availability of free food encourages poor parents to send all their children to school. The Delhi Ladli Scheme aims at providing proper education to the girl child to make her self-reliant.

Girl education plays a crucial role in the development and progression of a family as well as the nation as a whole. Hence, it is very important to give a deep thought over it and join hands to spread the needs across and beyond the boundaries.

Know about Girls Education.