Girl Child Education

“Educate a man, you educate one person, educate a woman, you educate a complete family.”

India is a young country and one of the primary drivers of a young nation is education. The Right to Education is now enshrined in the Indian constitution and is one of the principal requirements for a nation to flourish and achieve its economic and social potential.

To ensure that education reaches every child, it is imperative that the children study in healthy and active schools, schools that offer basic amenities and a healthy environment for children to come to school.

Two-thirds of the world's 880 million illiterate adults are women. Girls are more than 70 percent of the 125 million children who don't have a school to attend. Significantly more girls than boys enrolled in the first grade fail to complete the first cycle of primary school.

Social traditions and deep-rooted religious and cultural beliefs are most often the barriers to expanding girls' educational opportunities in undeveloped countries around the world.

Reports estimate that more than 50 percent of girls in India fail to enroll in school and those who do are likely to drop out by the age of 12.

As in a series of other aspects, the girl child is also discriminated against extensively in the right to education, even basic at times.

Lack of education denies the girl child, the knowledge and skills needed to advance their status. Education enables the child to realize her full potential, to think, question and judge independently; to be a wise decision-maker, develop civic sense and learn to respect, love his fellow human beings and to be a good citizen.

Figures also report that there is discrimination even in the field of higher education. At least a 40% of girls are not allowed to pursue higher studies, due to the conservative familial ideologies.

Several studies have revealed that lack of basic amenities like Toilets, Access to Water and Basic Infrastructure create an unwelcome environment in schools, which leads to higher rate of absenteeism, finally resulting into drop outs.

Girl child in such areas suffer the most. It is estimated that over 50% of rural schools in India have non-functional or no toilets. As the girl enters adolescence, she at many times involuntarily sits at home just because there are no proper, separate toilets for girls in rural schools. Lack of proper water and sanitation facilities in schools in rural India continues to remain a huge challenge.

“I ask you all so earnestly to open girl’s schools in every village and try to uplift them. If the Conditions of women are raised, then their children will, by their noble actions, glorify the name of the Country.” —Swami Vivekananda

Today’s girl child will be the mother of tomorrow. As a mother she can give her child a sound nursing and capable upbringing. A woman has the maximum impact on the social, economical decisions making in the family generally. At micro level, educated woman help in making the whole family including the older family members, understand the values and importance of education, and at macro level, educated women add to the social and economical development of the nation.

Girls education is like sowing the seed which gives rise to green, cheerful and full grown family plant. In ancient time girl’s education had a significant place in the society.

Women’s social conditions started deteriorating with the passage of time. Instead of giving them education, they are being subjected to sufferings under Purdah System, Child marriage. In some states female infanticide is prevalent even today. A new culture of elimination of female fetus has gradually become rampant discrimination between the education of girl and boy is common in rural areas. Parents feel that the education of girls is wastage as they will go to their husbands after marriage and more dowry have to be paid for a more educated girl. The poverty and illiteracy among the people is also big reason for not sending the girls to schools and colleges. But things are being changed, though slowly, but gradually.

Four years ago, the World Bank upgraded India from a "poor" country to a middle-income one. As commentators were at pains to point out in November, when the UK announced it would end aid to India from 2015, the country has a space programme, 48 billionaires and its own aid budget. Under its Right to Education (RTE) Act, passed in 2009, a free and compulsory education is guaranteed for all children aged between six and 14, and the most recent figures for primary school enrolment stand at an impressive-sounding 98%.

But going to school, as those monitoring progress on the millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education have increasingly realized, is one thing: the quality of the education you get is another. Within government schools pupils face numerous challenges. Overcrowded classrooms, absent teachers and unsanitary conditions are common complaints, and can lead parents to decide it is not worth their child going to school.

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE), a coalition of 26 NGOs and teaching unions, wants all nations to allocate at least 6% of GDP to education. India has been promising that since 1968, but the figure has never topped 4%, and it is currently 3.7%. It is an issue of political will, rather than a lack of cash. Education is not a vote-winning issue in a system of frequent elections, where pledges need to be deliverable immediately.