Right to Education

♤ As per RTE, all children (both girls and boys) are entitled to free primary school education till the age of 14. But still, primary education in India is not universal. The most disadvantaged of the lot include the girls, for whom education is not seen as necessary.

♤ Reason for this:

o Parents consider teaching household chores to girls are more important than education, and this is due to the ingraining of patriarchy and the confinement of girls inside the house.

o Another reason which keeps girls away from school is the concern for their safety and sexuality.

o Also, schools are generally located at a distance, with zero or very few number of female teachers.

o No bathrooms inside the school premises or lack of separate bathrooms for girls and boys is another disincentive

♤ As per statistics, the Literacy Rate for Women is 65%, whereas it is 82% for men. This difference reflects how far women are behind men in terms of education

♤ Illiteracy of women has far reaching consequences, and it has an impact on their children also. Also, low schooling leads to poor quality of care for their children, leading to higher infant and child mortality, and it sometimes leads to malnutrition because lack of education makes it difficult for women to adopt appropriate health promoting behavior such as immunization of children.

♤ Government measures: 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan' and 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' are initiatives to promote the education of girl child.