Status of education of the girl child in India

The female literacy rate is wadding behind the male literacy rate. This is certainly disheartening as we know that the lack of education is the root cause of women’s exploitation and negligence. Kerala has the highest literacy rate amongst female with 92% and Rajasthan the lowest with 52.7% preceded by Bihar 53.3%. There are many factors responsible for such low literacy rates amongst women and it is the combination of many factors-social, cultural, economic, geographical etc. According to reliable sources more than 50% of non starters are girls. According to the latest statistics every ten girls in the age group of 6-11 are still not enrolled in school.

 Equality is an integral part of a ‘right’ and therefore ‘right to education’ too. Hence it is crucial that  girls should also get the benefit of free and compulsory primary education. The Court has reinforced the equality of opportunity aspect in various decisions by stating that “where the State has undertaken to provide, it is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”

The dropouts among girls are especially high in rural, tribal and slum areas. In rural areas the girl child often plays the role of the second mother to her younger siblings and hence is often discouraged by her family from going to school.Child marriages, poverty are other factors that effect the education of the girl child in India. The enactment of RTE act,2009 was to bring about change in the educational status of the children particularly the girl child. There were many criticisms that have been raised not only with respect to the Act but also its implementation .